Department of Health and Social Care

Diabetes: Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on (a) access to and (b) take-up of routine health checks for patients with diabetes in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access to care for people living with diabetes in those areas.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2022 to Question 157380 on Protective Clothing: Contracts, on how many contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment did Supply Chain Coordination Limited carry out international price benchmarking since October 2020.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Protective Clothing: Storage

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost of storing personal protective equipment (PPE) in shipping containers during the period from April 2021 to May 2022; and whether his Department has made an estimate of the (a) daily, (b) weekly or (c) monthly costs of storing PPE in shipping containers as of 15 June 2022.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners and Health Centres

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is taking to support the development of new (a) GP facilities and (b) community health centres.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the 10-Year Cancer Plan will be published.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Staff

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to NHS hospitals was of using (a) agency staff and (b) bank staff in (i) 2020-21 and (ii) 2021-2022.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Dentistry

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered NHS dentists there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 20 April 2022 regarding continence care, reference ZA59501.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Public Health: Air Pollution

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the total annual cost to public health expenditure of current air pollution levels in (a) England and (b) the UK.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) scale of, (b) long-term implications of and (c) interventions needed to help tackle mental health issues in (i) young children and (ii) adolescents.

Gillian Keegan: In 2021, approximately 17.4% of children aged between six and 16 years old and young people aged 17 to 19 years old had a probable mental health disorder.The impact assessment for ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’ published in December 2017, considered the need to increase support to children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions and the options for intervention considered. The impact assessment is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664442/MHGP_IA.pdfAn independent evaluation of the initial stages of implementation of the programme will inform future interventions and assess the overall impact and outcomes.

Eating Disorders: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is taking to tackle eating disorders among (a) girls and young women, (b) boys and young men and (c) young adults and older adults.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing an additional £2.3 billion per year in mental health provision, including eating disorder services, by 2023/24. A further £1 billion has been allocated to community mental health care for young and older adults with severe mental illness, including eating disorders, by 2023/24 and an additional £53 million per year in children and young people's community eating disorder services. This will enhance the capacity of the 70 community eating disorder teams in England. The Department has launched a call for evidence to inform the development of a 10-year mental health plan, which aims to identify potential solutions to improve mental health and wellbeing, including eating disorders.

Dementia: Drugs

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2022 to Question 8030 on Dementia: Drugs, whether the plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years referred to in that answer will deliver on the Government's manifesto commitment to double dementia research funding.

Gillian Keegan: The strategy will include ambitions for dementia research and plans to increase research funding for dementia.

Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that early interventions are effective at preventing mental health decline among (a) children and (b) adults.

Gillian Keegan: Interim findings from an evaluation of the development, implementation and early progress of mental health support teams in schools and colleges in the first 25 ‘trailblazer’ areas was published in July 2021. This found evidence of strengthened local partnership working; greater confidence among staff in schools and colleges in discussing mental health with children and young people; easier access to advice on mental health issues for pupils; and faster access to direct support for children and young people with some mental health problems. A final evaluation report is expected later in 2022. For both adults and children and young people’s National Health Service mental health services, commissioners seek to ensure that interventions on offer have been recommended as clinically and cost effective by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. These including local talking and psychological therapies provided through the Improving Access to Psychological (IAPT) programme, with the outcomes monitored through the IAPT dataset.

Self-harm: Children and Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of self harm among children and young people.

Gillian Keegan: The most recent data available from NHS Digital’s ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017’ shows that 5.5% of 11 to 16 year olds reported having self-harmed or attempted suicide. Approximately 1.7% 11 to 16 year olds reported having recently self-harmed or attempted suicide in the four weeks prior to the survey and 3.1% had spoken about self-harming or suicide during this time. Overall, 15.4% of 17 to 19 year olds reported that they had self-harmed or attempted suicide, with 3.6% of 17 to 19 year olds reported as having self-harmed or made a suicide attempt in the past four weeks and 4.4% of 17 to 19 year olds had spoken about self-harm or suicide during this time.However, it is not possible to assess the trends since then, as subsequent surveys did not ask questions on self-harm. Also, the data does not separate self-harm and suicide attempts, therefore a specific assessment cannot be made.We are working with the suicide and self-harm sector to develop a new national suicide prevention plan, which will consider self-harm. In 2017, we expanded the scope of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy to include self-harm and we continue to fund the Multi-Centre Study of Self-harm, which analyses and monitors self-harming trends in England.

Hospitals: Autism and Learning Disability

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to make it easier for people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism to be discharged from hospital.

Gillian Keegan: The NHS Long Term Plan committed to achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by March 2024. In 2022/23, we are investing more than £90 million in community services and support for discharges in England for people with a learning disability and autistic people. This includes £21 million for the Community Discharge Grant.The Building the Right Support programme aims to strengthening community support and reduce reliance on specialist inpatient care in mental health hospitals. We will publish an action plan for the programme as soon as possible.

Department of Health and Social Care: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer given on 7 June 2022 to Question 8012 on Department of Health and Social Care: Protective Clothing, at what grade each of the 3.5 full time equivalent staff overseeing the storage of personal protective equipment are employed within the civil service.

Edward Argar: Three full-time equivalent (FTE) staff are employed at the SCS1 pay band and 0.5 FTE at SCS2.

Mental Health: Research

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase research funding for mental health.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Disability: Respite Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has guidance in place for families whose disabled relatives require a negative lateral flow test to access respite services but are unable to obtain the necessary testing sample due to the nature of their disability.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Evusheld

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for making a decision on the use of Evusheld following conclusion of UKHSA testing.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Staff

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) verbal abuse and (b) physical attacks experienced by NHS staff in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to better protect NHS staff in those areas from that abuse.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Life Expectancy

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government has made on its commitment to extend healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035.

Maggie Throup: We will set out a strategy to address the causes of health inequalities in the health disparities white paper, which we expect to publish later this year.

Gambling: Rehabilitation

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help people tackle gambling addictions.

Maggie Throup: The Department has responsibility for the treatment of gambling-related harms in England. The NHS Long Term Plan announced the creation of 15 specialist gambling clinics in England by 2023/24 to treat those experiencing severe gambling addiction. Five clinics are in operation, with a further three sites expected to open this year. NHS England intend to undertake one selection exercise for the location of the remaining seven clinics. This is expected to commence in July 2022, with all clinics to mobilise during Quarter 4 of 2022/23.The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will shortly publish a white paper on proposals for gambling reform across Great Britain.

Evusheld

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeframe is for the procurement of Evusheld in the event that that drug is made available for use in the NHS.

Maggie Throup: The Department is currently conducting its assessment of Evusheld, which includes advice from clinicians in line with available data, the public health situation and other treatments available. While we expect to receive clinical advice shortly, we are unable to confirm a specific timetable.

Food: Advertising

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will reconsider his decision to postpone the ban on (a) multi-buy deals for foods that are high in sugar, salt or fat and (b) the pre-watershed advertising of those foods.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will undertake an assessment of the impact on the levelling up agenda of the Government's decision to postpone the ban on (a) multi-buy deals for foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat and (b) pre-watershed advertising of those foods.

Maggie Throup: We have announced a delay to the implementation of the volume price promotions restrictions and the introduction of further restrictions on advertising of high fat, salt or sugar products on TV and paid for advertising online. This approach will address the long-term challenge of obesity, while recognising the unprecedented global economic situation and ensuring the smooth and effective implementation of these restrictions.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential link between the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine and Guillaine-Barre syndrome in the context of the case of Ross Wightman who was awarded compensation from the Canadian Vaccine Injury Support Programme in June 2022 following his diagnosis with that syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has monitored emerging information concerning Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) following the administration of any COVID-19 vaccine. A review of the available evidence, including Yellow Card reports and epidemiological studies, indicates that an association with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is possible.Following advice from the Government’s independent advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group, the product information for the AstraZeneca vaccine was updated to include GBS as an adverse reaction occurring very rarely following vaccination. Healthcare professionals and the public have been encouraged to be aware of signs of GBS following vaccination. The MHRA continues to monitor reports of GBS.

Breast Cancer: Pathology

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of breast pathologists in the NHS workforce.

Edward Argar: We have increased the number of medical school places in England by 25% from 6,000 to 7,500 per year to ensure a larger potential pipeline for pathologists. In February 2022, there were 4,706 full time equivalent doctors in the specialty group of pathology in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. This is an increase of 983 or 26.4% since February 2010. The Royal College of Pathologists is working with Health Education England (HEE) to promote pathology to medical students and encourage the uptake of specialty training.HEE is investing an additional £50 million in 2022/23 to further expand the cancer and diagnostics workforce, including the postgraduate medical training of key cancer-related medical professions, such as pathologists, histopathologists, clinical radiologists and oncologists. In 2021/22, 96 trainees were appointed to histopathology, the largest specialism within pathology, compared to 76 in 2019/20 and 81 in 2020/21.

NHS: Staff

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to (a) develop and (b) publish the long-term workforce strategy for the NHS; and if his Department will consult organisations representing patients on that strategy.

Edward Argar: In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England (HEE) to review long term trends for the health and regulated social care workforce and update the existing long term strategic framework, ‘Framework-15’. This review is nearing completion and we anticipate that the updated Framework-15 will be published in summer 2022.As part of the development of Framework-15, over 1,000 senior leaders, frontline staff, the future workforce, academics and think tanks, trade unions and others were consulted. A call for evidence issued in the autumn of 2021 elicited 322 responses and three large, deliberative events saw engagement with over 200 senior leaders and professionals from the health and social care system.In January 2022, the Department commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a long-term workforce plan to supplement the NHS People Plan and develop themes in the recent Elective Recovery Plan. It will also align with the priorities in HEE’s forthcoming Framework-15. We intend to engage with a range of stakeholders in developing this plan and patient representative groups will be consulted where appropriate. Its conclusions will be made available in due course.

Ambulance Services: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many paramedics and ambulance technicians were employed by NHS Trusts in England in each of the last 10 years.

Edward Argar: The following table shows the number of full time equivalent paramedics and ambulance technicians working in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England from February 2012 to February 2022.DateParamedicsAmbulance techniciansFebruary 201211,8255,254February 201312,4374,636February 201412,6574,329February 201512,6664,247February 201612,8374,729February 201713,3285,765February 201813,9855,763February 201914,8695,832February 202016,0916,374February 202116,9546,424February 202217,1176,554Source: NHS Digital Workforce Statistics

Health Professions: Migrant Workers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2022 to Question 5377 on Health Professions: Migrant Workers, in what format the General Medical Council holds that information.

Edward Argar: The General Medical Council (GMC) holds information about doctors with a non-United Kingdom primary medical qualification and a fitness to practise complaint enquiry received between 2019 and 2021. The GMC also holds information on how doctors with enquiries initially joined its register and the country of the primary medical qualification.

Paramedical Staff: Labour Turnover

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the turnover rate of paramedics has been each of the last 10 years.

Edward Argar: The following table shows the headcount leavers rate for paramedics in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups for annual periods from February 2012 to February 2022.PeriodLeavers rateFebruary 2012 to February 20135.6%February 2013 to February 20146.4%February 2014 to February 20157.8%February 2015 to February 20168.3%February 2016 to February 20177.4%February 2017 to February 20188.0%February 2018 to February 20198.4%February 2019 to February 20207.3%February 2020 to February 20216.3%February 2021 to February 20229.2% Source: NHS Digital NHS Hospital and Community Health Service workforce statistics.Note:Turnover data are based on headcount and shows people leaving or returning to active service, such as those taking or returning from maternity leave or a career break.

Health Services and Social Services: Staff

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Long-Term Strategic Framework for Health and Social Care Workforce Planning.

Edward Argar: In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England to review long term trends for the health and regulated social care workforce and update the existing long term strategic framework, ‘Framework-15’. This review is nearing completion and we anticipate that the updated Framework-15 will be published in summer 2022.The Department also asked NHS England to develop a long term workforce plan, including supply projections. Its conclusions will be made available in due course.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the NHS maximises use of the independent sector capacity to reduce NHS waiting lists as set out in the recent NHS Elective Recovery Plan.

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what published data his Department is using to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS in utilising the independent health sector to reduce the elective care backlog.

Edward Argar: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector to secure appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource in England. National Health Service systems continue to work with independent providers to secure the capacity for delivering the NHS Elective Recovery Plan.The Department’s published Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data shows the number of episodes of treatment and care delivered by the independent sector. Between March 2020 and March 2022, the independent sector provided the NHS with surgical capacity, access to additional private hospital staff, equipment, facilities and diagnostics, delivering approximately four million treatments and diagnostic tests.

Protective Clothing: Safety

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to reduce the likelihood of non-compliant or unsafe personal protective equipment entering the UK from overseas sellers through third-party online marketplaces.

Edward Argar: NHS Supply Chain procure personal protective equipment (PPE) from suppliers where the products comply with the relevant standards, according to public contract regulations. Further quality assessment is conducted on the arrival of the product checks to minimise the risk of non-compliant or unsafe PPE entering the supply chain.

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many 999 calls to ambulance services went unanswered in the last 12 months.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many emergency calls were placed to ambulance services in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the average response time for serious ambulance calls in April (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Edward Argar: The average response time for serious ambulance calls is not collected centrally. Incidents responded to by ambulance services are triaged into four response time categories. The following table shows the mean average response times in hours, minutes and seconds for Category 1 ‘Life-threatening’ calls and Category 2 ‘Emergency’ calls in April 2021 and April 2022.  Category 1Category 2April 20210:07:030:18:29April 20220:09:020:51:22 The number of unanswered 999 calls is not collected centrally. The following table shows the number of calls placed to ambulance services in England in each of the last 10 years. 2012/138,544,8992013/148,485,7682014/159,001,2742015/169,404,6762016/179,774,4932017/188,640,0222018/1911,714,2932019/2012,415,7872020/2111,413,8342021/2214,061,120 Source: NHS Ambulance Quality Indicators.Note:Data from 2017/18 reflects the implementation of new reporting standards and may not be directly comparable to previous years.

Health Professions

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical jobs there are in the NHS; what proportion of those jobs are staffed by overseas workers; and how many vacancies in clinical roles there are, as of 15 June 2022. .

Edward Argar: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England, but not staff working in primary care or in general practice surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The information requested as of 15 June 2022 is not currently held. However, as of December 2021, there were 642,560 full-time equivalent (FTE) professionally qualified clinical staff working in National Health Service trusts and CCGs. This includes 127,959 doctors and 339,942 nurses, midwives and health visitors.The following table shows the FTE number and proportion of professionally qualified clinical staff by self-reported nationality as at December 2021. Nationality does not imply that workers were trained or previously worked overseas.Staff groupTotal FTENumber of staff with non-United Kingdom nationalitiesProportion of staff with non-UK nationalitiesProfessionally qualified clinical staff642,560133,84820.8%Including:   Ambulance staff18,0421,1996.6%HCHS doctors127,95940,66031.8%Scientific, therapeutic and technical staff156,61717,70811.3%Nurses, midwives and health visitors339,94274,28121.9%Source: NHS Digital Workforce StatisticsNHS Digital publishes quarterly vacancy data collected by NHS England and NHS Improvement for NHS hospital trusts for three staff groups: doctors, registered nurses and ‘other staff’. The following table shows the number of FTE nursing vacancies and medical vacancies as of March 2022. Many of the vacancies will be filled by bank and agency staff.Nursing38,972Medical8,016Other staff58,867Total workforce105,855Source: NHS Digital Vacancy Statistics

Dental Services: Bolton

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of NHS dental care in (a) the Borough of Bolton and (b) Bolton South East constituency.

Maria Caulfield: No recent formal assessment has been made. Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked all practices, including those in Bolton, to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to improve access for patients safely. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association, to improve the National Health Service dental system. Negotiations are currently underway on initial measures to improve access to NHS dentistry, including in Bolton.

Dental Services: Bolton South East

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentistry patients are registered in Bolton South East constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally. Dental patients are not registered to a particular practice outside a course of treatment. A dental practice can accept a patient for a course of treatment and there are no geographical restrictions on which practice a patient may attend.

Dental Services: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) provision of and (b) access to routine NHS dental care services in (i) Coventry North East constituency and (ii) Coventry.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association (BDA), to improve the National Health Service dental system. Negotiations are currently underway on measures to improve patient access, reduce health inequalities and make the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists, including in Coventry. We will set out a timetable for implementation when these negotiations conclude. Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients.

Patients: Safety

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) staffing levels and (b) response times on patient safety in the most recent period for which data is available.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. Data on patient safety incidents is collected and reported through the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). However, the NRLS is a largely voluntary scheme for reporting patient safety incidents and does not provide the actual number of patient safety incidents occurring in the National Health Service.

Dialysis Machines

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase home dialysis provision for chronic kidney disease patients on the NHS in England.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is working with NHS England to implement the Renal Services Transformation Programme, which aims to increase the provision and accessibility of home dialysis treatment for chronic kidney disease patients.NHS England has established 11 renal clinical networks to work with integrated care systems and renal providers and appointed a National Clinical Advisor for dialysis care to develop and share best practice, providing recommendations to all renal services to increase the provision of home dialysis. The Programme’s objectives are being developed with patient groups, clinical and non-clinical colleagues and will be published in April 2023.

NHS: Negligence

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many incidences of medication error have been reported since 2017.

Maria Caulfield: From 2017 to 7 June 2022, 1,309,128 medication-related incidents have been reported to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). Patient safety events which occur in healthcare, including incidences of medication error, are voluntarily reported by health and care staff through the NRLS and its successor, the national Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service. The LFPSE service is also managed by NHS England and is currently being deployed.Information is analysed to allow effective learning from events and advance patient safety. NHS England reviews emerging patient safety risks and can take action where it finds cases of preventable harm, such as issuing National Patient Safety Alerts to the health system through the Central Alerting System.

General Practitioners: Attendance

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of missed GP appointments in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of missed GP appointments in those areas.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate has been made. Local National Health Service organisations and general practitioner practices have arrangements for preventing and dealing with missed appointments. These include using text message or email reminders, online cancellation forms and online appointments for patients who do not require a physical examination.

Medical Treatments: Safety

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the progress that has been made towards the World Health Organization’s global initiative to reduce severe, avoidable medication-associated harm in all countries by 50 per cent by 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The World Health Organization has recognised that no signatory of its third global challenge has identified a method for monitoring all severe avoidable medicines associated harm incidents over time. Research commissioned by the Department in 2018 estimated 237 million medication errors per year in England, of which 28% were potentially clinically significant. Further research supports the approach adopted in England of targeting national programmes and processes known to contribute to severe avoidable harm. This includes the implementation of Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration in acute hospitals.Through the National Patient Safety Alerts system, NHS England monitors organisations’ declarations that specified risk management actions have been undertaken in response to alerts. NHS England routinely monitors medicines safety improvement activity, including the delivery of the community pharmacy Discharge Medicines Service, which can prevent up to 10% of hospital readmissions and structured medication reviews in general practice to reduce over and underdosing of high-risk medication. While it is voluntary, reporting through the National Reporting and Learning System and its successor, the Learn from Patient Safety Events Service, has increased which provides data on such incidents and can identify learning and reduce risks.

Macrogol and Movicol

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure an adequate supply of (a) Movicol and (b) Macrogol.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken steps to help increase the supply of Movicol.

Edward Argar: We are not aware of any supply issues with Movicol and other macrogol medicines. The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and NHS Improvement and others operating in the supply chain, to prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible, to ensure that any risks to patients are minimised.

Lung Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people living with lung disease as of 6 June 2022.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made as this information is not collected in the format requested. However, data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework in 2020/21 shows the prevalence of asthma was 6.38% and 1.38% for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hospitals: Construction

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on releasing funds that would allow progress on new hospital provision for the eight Pathfinder Trusts.

Edward Argar: We have regular discussions with HM Treasury regarding the delivery of the New Hospitals Programme. Since its establishment, we have worked with trusts to establish how each scheme can maximise efficiencies enabled by the programme. The full individual funding allocations for schemes are confirmed once the respective Full Business Cases have been reviewed and agreed, including with HM Treasury.

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral contribution of 8 June, official report, column 813, when the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will contact Paul Calvert.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral contribution of 8 June, official report, column 813, when he will make a further announcement on a broader and more powerful review into the North East Ambulance Service.

Maria Caulfield: On 14 June 2022, we announced that there will be an independent review of events at the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. This will be commissioned and overseen by NHS England and NHS Improvement and further information will be available in due course. We are considering how best to engage with those affected by this case.

NHS: IVF

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of the access to IVF treatment on the NHS for (a) married couples and (b) single women.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority collects fertility treatment data based on involvement of a partner and not on marital status.National Health Service commissioning organisations make decisions on fertility services taking account of the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s fertility guidelines. These guidelines are based around the treatment of clinical infertility in couples. Single people are therefore not routinely treated by the NHS for in-vitro fertilisation.

Medical Treatments: Innovation

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made in supporting the development of new treatments for serious diseases, including through the Cancer Drugs Fund; and what future plans he has to support the development of such treatments through (a) the Cancer Drugs Fund and (b) the Innovative Medicines Fund.

Edward Argar: The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) supports patient access to the most promising new licensed cancer medicines and has benefitted more than 80,000 patients, with funding provided for 96 medicines treating 218 different cancers. We are providing £340 million for the Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) will support early access for National Health Service patients to new non-cancer medicines while further evidence is collected to address clinical uncertainty. This data will inform a future National Institute for Care and Health Excellence assessment of whether the medicine is cost effective. In addition, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and Project Orbis will support the rapid introduction of effective new medicines for the benefit of NHS patients.

Dental Services: Finance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16th May 2022 to Question 279 on Dental Services: Finance, how much and what proportion of the £50 million NHS dentistry catch up fund announced by the Government in January 2022 has been spent in (a) total and (b) each region.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 280, on Dental Services: Emergencies, how many additional urgent care appointments have been delivered in (a) total and (b) each region through the £50 million catch up funding for NHS dentistry announced by the Government in January 2022.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 281, on Dental Services: Bradford South, how many additional urgent care appointments have been delivered in Bradford South through the £50 million catch up funding for NHS dentistry announced by the Government in January 2022.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 282, on Dental Services: Finance, how many dentists have provided NHS care funded by the additional £50 million for NHS dentistry announced by the Government in January 2022.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 283, on Dental Services: Finance, how many additional units of NHS dental activity have been provided by the additional £50 million of funding for NHS dentistry announced by the Government in January 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The data requested is not yet held centrally as dental contract holders submit claims for activity within 60 days. The data is then centrally validated to ensure accuracy. We anticipate the information will be available by the end of July.

Supply Chain Coordination

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the operational cost of running each Category Tower of NHS Supply Chain Coordination Limited was in NHS financial years (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22 as of 10 June 2022.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on services provided by Unipart Logistics as part of NHS Supply Chain in each year since the start of that contract to 10 June 2022.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of money (a) spent and (b) saved through the use of the Category Tower model by NHS Supply Chain Coordination Limited.

Edward Argar: The operational cost of each Category Tower of NHS Supply Chain was £60 million in 2020/21 and £61 million in 2021/22. An estimated £390 million to £400 million has been spent on services provided by Unipart Logistics in each year since the start of the contract.The Department has spent an estimated £13 billion through the Category Tower Model by NHS Supply Chain, with an estimated £1.4 billion in savings.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have died at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital whilst waiting to be admitted to the Emergency Department after being transported by the ambulance service in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) since January 2022.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans for an external and independent review of recent standards of performance of West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients waited more than two hours for an ambulance to arrive after the first 999 call was made for that patient in Shropshire since January 2022.

Edward Argar: The information requested on the number of deaths at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the number of patients who waited for more than two hours is not held centrally. No specific review of recent standards of performance of West Midlands Ambulance Service is planned.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce NHS ambulance waiting times in England.

Edward Argar: Ambulance trusts receive continuous central monitoring and support from NHS England and NHS Improvement’s National Ambulance Coordination Centre. NHS England and NHS Improvement have allocated an additional £150 million in 2022/23, supporting improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention and other funding pressures.

Ambulance Services: Preston

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what risk assessment his Department has undertaken on (a) proposals by the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) to relocate Preston Ambulance Station in Deepdale to Lostock Hall and (b) the subsequent impact of that relocation on (i) ambulance waiting times for patients living in Preston, (ii) patient outcomes and (iii) NWAS staff terms and conditions.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the 999 Ambulance Station is retained in one or more areas of Preston constituency in the short- and long-term future.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to North West Ambulance Service for the period (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25; and how much of that funding has been allocated to provide emergency ambulance service and patient transport for people living in (i) Preston and (ii) Lancashire.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many avoidable deaths have occurred in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire as a result of ambulance delays in the last three years.

Edward Argar: No specific risk assessment has been made. The operational delivery of ambulance services, including decisions regarding its estate, is a matter for the local National Health Service. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that the long-term national strategy for ambulance services is a transition to a hub and spoke model, which delivers operational benefits. Research and modelling on the impact on response times is ongoing, including potential mitigations. In line with the national NHS staff terms and conditions, increased home to work mileage associated with a change in base will be reimbursed to those staff directly impacted. Funding for the North West Ambulance Service is allocated through NHS England and NHS Improvement’s commissioners. Financial plans for the period requested are still being finalised. The information requested on avoidable deaths in Preston and Lancashire is not collected centrally. NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that there have been no Regulation 28 reports issued by coroners regarding ambulance delays due to activity or available resources in Preston and Lancashire since 2018.

Hospitals: Finance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a revised funding formula for unavoidably small hospitals in (a) rural and (b) all other areas to enable them to (i) be more fully utilised as hospitals and (ii) offer a wider range of essential health services; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs), independently of the Government. The allocation formula is informed by an estimation of the relative health needs of local areas, based on factors statistically associated with higher or lower need per head for NHS services. Further cost adjustments are also applied to estimate the unavoidable cost differences between health care providers, based on location. The approach has been reviewed and a target adjustment was included in the 2022/23 ICB allocations.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Finance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date he plans to release funds for enabling works for the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust transformation programme.

Edward Argar: West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has received £38 million for enabling works, from of a total £52 million provided to the end of 2021/22. Further requests for funding will be considered, subject to the appropriate governance process to ensure maximum value for money.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 10 March 2022, reference RL32288.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 16 June 2022.

Drinking Water: Fluoride

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with other Cabinet colleagues on the matter of fluoridation of water supplies; if the Government will make it its policy to ensure that any proposals to introduce water fluoridisation schemes (i) be consulted upon before introduction and (ii) have the support of affected local communities; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: There have been no recent discussions. However, any proposals to introduce water fluoridation schemes would be subject to funding being agreed and public consultation. A consultation seeking views on the future consultation process has recently closed and the results will be published in due course. The responses will inform secondary legislation to determine the future public consultation process.

NHS: Dental Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who are not registered with an NHS dental practice.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally, as dental patients are not registered to a particular practice. A dental practice can accept a patient for a course of treatment and there are no geographical restrictions on which dental practice a patient may attend.

Dental Services: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) recruit and (b) retain NHS dentists.

Maria Caulfield: In its ‘Advancing Dental Care Review’ published in September 2021, Health Education England (HEE) made recommendations to address recruitment, retention and attracting dentists and other dental professionals into the National Health Service. These recommendations are being implemented through HEE’s Dental Education Reform Programme. We are also working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association, to ensure the NHS dental contract is more attractive to the profession and negotiations are currently underway on initial improvements.

Dental Services: Waiting Lists

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on NHS dentistry waiting lists in (a) Bolton South East constituency, (b) the borough of Bolton and (c) the United Kingdom.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally, as appointments for National Health Service treatment are managed directly by dental practices.

Dental Services: Carshalton and Wallington

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS Dentistry in Carshalton and Wallington constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association, to improve the National Health Service dental system, with negotiations are currently underway on initial measures. This aims to improve patient access, reduce health inequalities and make the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists, including in Carshalton and Wallington. We will a provide a timetable for implementation when these negotiations conclude. Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients.

Health Professions: Breast Cancer

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the (a) 10-Year Cancer Plan for England and (b) long-term NHS workforce strategy will include actions to address the (a) recruitment, (b) training and (c) educational needs of the breast screening workforce.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure capacity within the cancer workforce to deliver the forthcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan.

Maria Caulfield: Officials are currently analysing the responses received to the call for evidence to develop the forthcoming 10 Year Cancer Plan. It will set out plans to ensure that the appropriate workforce is in place to support all cancer patients. In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England to review long term strategic trends for the health and regulated social care workforce and update the existing long term strategic framework. This is expected to be completed in summer 2022. In addition, the Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a Long Term Workforce Plan. Further information on the plan and its conclusions will be available in due course.

Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures: Licensing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the Government's proposal to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

Maria Caulfield: In April 2022, we introduced legislation through the Health and Care Act 2022 to provide powers for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. The scope and details of any future licensing scheme will be set out in secondary legislation and subject to stakeholder engagement and public consultation. Officials are currently assessing the implementation of these plans.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May to Question 947, how much funding NHS England will provide in 2022-23 to support general practitioners in pilots on diagnosing dementia in a care home setting.

Gillian Keegan: Evaluation of applications to undertake the pilot is ongoing and funding requirements will be determined following the outcome.

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) children and young people and (b) adults were referred to specialist secondary mental health services with a primary reason of referral of eating disorders in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22; and what proportion of those referrals were made to an eating disorder service.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not collected in the format requested as Hospital Episodes Statistics record activity within secondary health services and not referrals to those services.

Long Covid

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the provision of care and long-term treatment for long covid.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England has invested £224 million to support the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of people with post-COVID-19 syndrome, including £90 million in 2022/23. There are over 90 assessment services to support adults, children and young people with the long term effects of COVID-19 and to direct them to appropriate care pathways.We have invested over £50 million in research projects for post-COVID-19 syndrome to improve our understanding and treatment of the condition.

Radioligand Therapy

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prepare the health system for the forecasted increase in the eligible radioligand therapy patient population.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England will produce clear national guidance for Trusts to develop services that provide radioligand therapy where currently there is no provision.

Maria Caulfield: It is expected that all new therapeutic radioligand treatments for cancer will be appraised by National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), via its technology appraisal process. If approved, treatments are normally made available to patients from the date of NICE’s positive draft guidance. National Health Service regional teams would commission providers to deliver radioligand therapy based on an assessment of current access arrangements, current and future demand and whether the provider can meet the required standards.

Care Homes: Respite Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2022 to Question 1680 on Care Homes: Coronavirus, if she will publish figures on respite care home capacity from March 2020 to the present.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not held centrally.

Oesophageal Cancer: Screening

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the regularity with which survivors of oesophageal cancer should receive follow-up tests to ensure there is no recurrence of the disease.

Maria Caulfield: No recent assessment has been made. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service. The NICE guideline on oesophago-gastric cancer, published in 2018, includes recommendations on follow-up for patients who have received treatment for oesophago-gastric cancer, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng83Healthcare professionals are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time is between (a) referral and (b) first appointment for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Barnsley in the latest period for which data is available.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Dementia: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of support available to (a) families and (b) carers of people living with dementia in (i) Newport West constituency and (ii) Wales.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made as health and social care for people with dementia in Wales is a devolved matter.

Heart Diseases: Diagnosis

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the early detection of heart valve disease in England.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address disparities in treatment across England for heart valve disease.

Maria Caulfield: On 1 October 2021, 40 community diagnostics centres (CDCs) were announced to improve the detection of heart valve disease in England, through the provision of earlier diagnostic tests closer to home. By the end of 2021/22, 66 had opened, with an ambition to increase the number of CDCs to at least 100 in the next three years. The CDCs will support Primary Care Networks to improve diagnostic capacity and increase the detection of conditions such as heart valve disease and heart failure. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to detecting and diagnosing an 54,000 people with heart failure and heart valve disease in the community by 2023/24. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England have developed a new e-learning for healthcare course to support healthcare professionals to better recognise the symptoms of heart valve disease, diagnose, manage and support heart valve disease patients. Currently, eight modules have been issued and NHS England and NHS Improvement anticipate that the remaining modules will be available in 2022. The Plan also commits to improving cardiac rehabilitation to prevent up to 23,000 premature deaths and 50,000 acute admissions over 10 years A national training programme to fast-track cardiac physiologists to address the workforce requirements across echocardiology services has been established. This is a full-time integrated training scheme leading to both a post-graduate certificate in echocardiology and level 2 BSE accreditation in transthoracic echocardiogram. There are currently 57 trainees participating in the scheme, with a further 85 funded posts from October 2022.

Healthy Start Scheme: Telephone Services

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Healthy Start helpline is not a freephone service; whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of charging for calls to the Healthy Start helpline on the number of people seeking assistance with their Healthy Start entitlement; and if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Healthy Start helpline a freephone service.

Maggie Throup: There are currently no plans to make the NHS Business Service Authority’s Healthy Start line a freephone number. The NHS Business Services Authority, in line with national and other Government agencies, transferred from 0845 numbers to 0300 or 01 02 numbers as part of the Fair Telecoms Campaign.Telephone companies include calls to 0300 numbers in the free minutes of some call plans. Any call charges outside of a plan are charged at a local rate, which is set by the caller’s provider. Calls to the NHS Healthy Start telephone helpline are charged at a local rate. A separate automated telephone is available 24 hours a day, where beneficiaries can activate or replace a lost or damaged card and check their balance. For those with access to digital services, general queries about NHS Healthy Start can be made via email and to the NHS Healthy Start Facebook and Twitter social media channels, which are free services.

Healthy Start Scheme: Telephone Services

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on reported incidents of (a) the early termination of calls and (b) other technical issues with the Healthy Start helpline.

Maggie Throup: Calls to the NHS Healthy Start scheme are not terminated by the NHS Business Services Authority. The NHS Healthy Start scheme call centre has seen a high call volume and the number of calls is currently capped to prevent people being on hold for a long time. Where a caller has been unable to contact the call centre staff, a message advises them that lines are currently busy and to call back later. There have been no technical issues with the NHS Healthy Start helpline.

Smoking: Local Government

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, if his Department will (a) provide support to Councils in becoming smoke free and (b) implement the recommendations of that review.

Maggie Throup: The Department will consider the recommendations set out in the review. Investment in local authority tobacco control measures is provided through the Public Health Grant.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether persons who have been wrongly classified as being ineligible for the Healthy Start Scheme but who have subsequently made successful appeals are eligible for financial compensation.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority has resolved the recent issue where some applicants to the Healthy Start scheme were incorrectly advised that they were ineligible. In these instances, applicants should contact the NHS Business Services Authority to request assistance in joining the scheme and to obtain any potential backdated payment owed. A backdated payment will only be made where the applicant is able to demonstrate a claim was attempted and they were eligible at the time of the application.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to simplify the appeals process for persons who have been wrongly classified as being ineligible for the Healthy Start Scheme.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority does not have an appeals process for applications to the Healthy Start scheme. However, where eligible applicants have been incorrectly advised they were ineligible during the application process, they should contact the NHS Business Services Authority to request assistance in joining the scheme and to obtain any potential backdated payment owed.

Food: Marketing

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of placement measures on foods high in fat, sugar or salt on the cost of living.

Maggie Throup: The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.

Food: Advertising

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s announcement of 14 May 2022, Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online, what the evidential basis was for his Department's assessment that it was necessary to give industry more time to prepare for the restrictions on advertising; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The delay to the Health and Care Act 2022 receiving Royal Assent had an impact on the regulators’ subsequent consultations and publication of final guidance, therefore it was unlikely it would be available prior to implementation. In addition, we have reflected on industry’s concerns on fully digesting the final guidance, restructuring funding and revenue streams appropriately and confirming plans to ensure robust compliance from implementation.

Obesity: Children

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the ability to deliver the Government’s commitment to halve childhood obesity by 2030 in the context of the proposed delay to the implementation of policies to restrict the marketing on high fat, sugar or salt food and drink products; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department has ongoing discussions with stakeholders on this commitment. In addition, new regulations on out-of-home calorie labelling for out of home food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways came into force on 6 April 2022. Restrictions on promotions by location will come into force in October 2022. We are continuing to deliver the Better Health: Rewards Scheme Pilot and work on sugar reduction and reformulation. We will support local authorities to deliver the weight management services funded in 2021 and the forthcoming health disparities white paper will set out further measures to improve the nation’s health.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have wrongly been classified as being ineligible for the Healthy Start Scheme during the process of migration from vouchers to cards.

Maggie Throup: The information requested is not held centrally.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people who are eligible for the Healthy Start scheme have not yet registered for it; and whether his Department is taking steps to encourage uptake in that scheme.

Maggie Throup: In March 2022 there were 547,719 eligible beneficiaries for the NHS Healthy Start scheme. Of these, 394,348 were in receipt of Healthy Start or 72% nationally. The NHS Business Services Authority promotes the Healthy Start scheme through digital channels and has created free tools to allow stakeholders promote the scheme locally.

Heart Diseases: Air Pollution

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the potential link between air pollution and arrhythmia.

Maggie Throup: In 2018, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, an expert committee of the Department, assessed the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular health. It found evidence that exposure to air pollutants, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5), affected arrhythmias. To reduce such risks, the Clean Air Strategy 2019 committed to reduce PM2.5 to halve the number of people living in locations in the United Kingdom where concentrations are above the World Health Organzation’s guidelines by 2025.

Females: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publishing the Women’s Health and Sexual and Reproductive Strategies.

Maggie Throup: The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Women’s Health Strategies are both planned for publication later this year.

Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will publish the Government’s vaccine strategy.

Maggie Throup: The Strategy is being kept under review given the continuously evolving understanding of COVID-19, its vaccines and vaccination programmes and the impact of these developments.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average ambulance response time was in England in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to address regional disparities in ambulance response times.

Edward Argar: Ambulance trusts receive continuous central monitoring and support from the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s National Ambulance Coordination Centre. An additional £150 million has been allocated in 2022/23 to improve response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention and relieving other funding pressures. Information on the average response time in England is not collected in the format requested. Ambulance response times are measured by category at regional ambulance trust level since the introduction of the current national response time standards in 2017/18. Average ambulance response times were not collected under the previous ‘Category A’ national response time standards. The following table shows the mean average ambulance waiting times in hours, minutes and seconds for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 incidents in England in each year from 2017/18 to May 2022.  Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 42017/180:08:230:25:511:04:361:30:322018/190:07:180:21:471:01:461:25:422019/200:07:180:23:501:11:041:26:092020/210:07:030:20:570:54:411:22:512021/220:08:390:41:172:13:402:49:43April to May 20220:08:360:39:582:09:322:47:57 Source: NHS Ambulance Quality Indicators.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the long-term effectiveness of covid-19 booster vaccines.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, Government and academic partners and the devolved administrations continue to monitor the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Several studies of vaccine effectiveness have been conducted in the United Kingdom against the COVID-19 variants and continue to be updated regularly.Post-implementation vaccine effectiveness studies are required to understand vaccine effectiveness against different outcomes and variants, such as severe disease and onwards transmission, effectiveness in different subgroups of the population and to understand the duration of protection. Vaccine effectiveness is estimated by comparing rates of disease in vaccinated individuals to rates in unvaccinated individuals.

Rare Diseases: Medical Treatments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of the NICE Highly Specialised Technologies evaluation process for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products to treat a wide range of rare and ultra-rare diseases.

Maria Caulfield: There are no current plans to do so. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently reviewed and refined the criteria used to make decisions on whether medicines should be routed to its highly specialised technology evaluation programme. The updated criteria are not intended to increase or reduce the number of medicines which are evaluated through the highly specialised technologies programme. NICE has recommended 100% of the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products it has evaluated through both its technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes which are now routinely available to National Health Service patients.

Evusheld: Testing

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of when the UK Health Security Agency testing for Evusheld will be completed.

Maggie Throup: AstraZeneca commissioned the UK Health Strategic Authority (UKHSA) to test the effectiveness of Evusheld against the Omicron variants. Initial data has been shared with AstraZeneca and testing continues for the Omicron variant BA.4. The timing of the results are dependent on a number of factors and we are currently unable to confirm when it will be available. After reviewing the data, AstraZeneca will determine whether to commission further testing.

Health Services: Events Industry

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including organisations providing event medical services under the remit of the Care Quality Commission.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2022 to Question 13229 on Emergency Services and First Aid, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of concerns about the safety of people using medical services at temporary events raised in the letter of the Care Quality Commission's Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals to the chief executive officers of local authorities in England in her role as National Lead for Ambulance Services in May 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates the independent ambulance sector with exemptions, where some activities fall outside of its scope. This includes transport and treatment services provided solely within the confines of an event site. However, there are a small number of providers which are regulated where no such exemption exists, primarily those which also offer diagnostic and screening procedures. This activity is therefore regulated. While it does not have regulatory oversight of such providers, the CQC has evidence of patient safety and quality issues and wrote to the sector in March 2017 and November 2018 and stated these concerns in its ‘State of care in independent ambulance services’ report in March 2019. The CQC’s then Chief Inspector of Hospitals also raised similar concerns to the Manchester Arena Inquiry in January 2022. To bring medical services provided at events into the CQC’s scope of regulation requires an amendment in the Regulated Activity of the Treatment of Disease, Disorder and Injury. The Department is currently undertaking a post implementation review to ascertain whether the current Regulated Activities achieved the intended policy objective. Once the post implementation review report has been completed, the Department will work with the CQC on how the Regulated Activity can be updated as part of a review of the CQC’s regulations.

Prime Minister

India: Foreign Relations

Layla Moran: To ask the Prime Minister, when he last had discussions with the Prime Minister of India.

Boris Johnson: I met Prime Minister Modi on 22 April 2022 during my visit to India. My statement from the joint press conference is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-at-press-conference-with-prime-minister-modi-22-april-2022

Egypt: Foreign Relations

Layla Moran: To ask the Prime Minister, when he last had a telephone call with the President of Egypt.

Boris Johnson: I spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on 28 March 2022. A readout is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-president-al-sisi-of-egypt-28-march-2022.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all Universal Credit claimants will receive the proposed cost of living payments at the same time as everyone else.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of wait time is for appeals against a work capability assessment decision in the latest period for which data is available.

Chloe Smith: The median clearance time for Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (WCA) appeals completed in the period January – March 2022 was 108 calendar days.The clearance time is the difference between the dates an appeal is lodged and its clearance, as recorded as occurring on DWP computer systems. Appeal clearance events may include a tribunal hearing decision, the appeal being lapsed (where DWP change the decision in favour of the claimant after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at tribunal) or the appeal being withdrawn or struck out.This information is based on data taken from DWP computer system’s management information. Therefore this data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.There are currently no Official Statistics on number and outcomes of Work Capability Assessments for Universal Credit, and no plans to publish at this time.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of appeals against a work capability assessment decisions are (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in the latest period for which data is available.

Chloe Smith: Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (WCA) outcomes are published quarterly. The latest figures covering the outcome of completed initial and repeat WCAs, including appeals decisions, can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment Additional breakdowns of these figures are available on Stat-Xplore:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance for users is available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html There are currently no Official Statistics on number and outcomes of Work Capability Assessments for Universal Credit, and no plans to publish at this time.

Department for Work and Pensions: Information Officers

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much expenditure her Department allocated in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021, to (a) internal communications and (b) the employment of staff to work on internal communications.

Guy Opperman: The roles within Communications Directorate are multifunctional, it is not possible to breakdown the roles further.

Department for Work and Pensions: Information Officers

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were employed by her Department to work on internal communications in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Guy Opperman: The roles within Communications Directorate are multifunctional, it is not possible to breakdown the roles further.

Universal Credit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of cost of living payments on future Universal Credit payments for claimants.

David Rutley: The Cost of Living Payments will not will not affect a person’s entitlement to social security benefits, (including Universal Credit) or tax credits - either as ‘capital’ or as ‘income’. They will also not count towards the benefit cap. This approach will allow households to retain the full value of the payments they receive.

State Retirement Pensions: Poverty

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people of the statutory retirement age who live in relative poverty.

Guy Opperman: National Statistics on the number of pensioners in low income in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Latest statistics, covering up until 2020/21, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1064433/hbai-summary-results.ods

Employment and Support Allowance

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of not providing supplementary fuel payments to people who receive Contributory Employment and Support Allowance on those claimants.

Guy Opperman: Winter Fuel Payments are an age-related payment payable to those who have reached state pension age. The payment provides reassurance to older customers that Government help is available during the winter months to help with their energy bills. This winter 2022/23 winter fuel payments will be increased by £300 and households with someone of state pension age and under 80 will receive £500 and households with someone aged 80 or over will receive £600. Cold Weather Payments are made to people in receipt of certain income-related benefits. People who receive contribution-based benefits, such as contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments. This is because the Cold Weather Payment scheme was specifically designed to target the most vulnerable people in society, by providing help with additional heating costs during periods of severe weather. The Government firmly believes that the fairest way of managing this is by linking eligibility to income-related benefits, as this ensures that public funds are used in the most effective way possible.

Pension Credit: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 9898 on Pension Credit: Coventry, how many pensioners in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it.

Guy Opperman: Estimates for the number of people eligible for Pension Credit are only available at the Great Britain level and are available in the “Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up” publication which can be found on the statistics section of gov.uk. The latest publication relates to the financial year 2019 to 2020. Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the uptake of Pension Credit was in (a) Glasgow North East constituency and (b) the UK in (i) 2019-2020, (ii) 2020-2021 and (iii) 2022 to 14 June.

Guy Opperman: Estimates for the number of Pension Credit claimants in Glasgow North East constituency can be found on Stat-Xplore. The latest data is for November 2021. https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk  Estimates for Pension Credit take-up in a financial year are only available at the Great Britain level and are available in the “Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up” publication which can be found on the statistics section of gov.uk. The latest publication relates to the financial year 2019 to 2020. Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Department for Work and Pensions: Digital Technology

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much expenditure was allocated by her Department in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021 to the (i) production of digital and video content, (ii) the employment of in-house staff to produce digital and video content and (iii) payment of external companies and individuals to produce digital and video content.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) photographers and (b) video producers were employed by her Department in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Cost of Living

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that receiving a Cost of Living Payment does not negatively affect claimants' subsequent Universal Credit payments.

David Rutley: The Cost of Living Payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards. Further information on these payments will be discussed in Parliament as part of the legislative process to ensure their delivery.

Local Housing Allowance

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of tenants are eligible for Shared Accommodation Local Housing Allowance and reside in a one-bedroom in each local authority in Wales in the latest period for which data are available.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office

Undocumented Migrants: Detainees

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals notified of removal to Rwanda but not relocated on 14 June 2022 were placed in immigration detention since their arrival in the UK.

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total cost of keeping individuals notified of removal to Rwanda but not relocated on 14 June 2022 in immigration detention.

Tom Pursglove: All individuals who were not relocated on 14 June 2022 had undertaken dangerous journeys across the Channel and had been detained since their arrival in the UK.The Home Office publishes statistics on immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release ’. This includes data on people:Entering detention by initial place of detention in table Det_02a of the ‘Detention summary tables’.Leaving detention by last place of detention published in the table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’ and by reason for leaving detention in table.Det_D03 of the ‘detention detailed datasets’.In detention by current place of detention in table Det_03a of the ‘Detention summary tables’.Information on the average cost per night to hold an individual in immigration detention can be found at Migration Transparency data. As at Quarter 1 2022, the average cost per night to hold an individual in immigration detention was £107.23. The average cost per night is not impacted by the immigration circumstances of those in detention and no new accommodation has been opened to hold those who were not relocated on 14 June.

Asylum: Rwanda

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional payments have been made to Rwanda since the £120 million initial payment under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with that country.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Rwanda

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total cost incurred for the flight that was scheduled to take asylum seekers to Rwanda on 14 June 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Applications

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse is of supporting an asylum seeker in the UK for six months while waiting for an asylum application to be processed.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Work Permits

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to issue asylum seekers with temporary work permits while their application is being assessed.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Employment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential merits of permitting asylum seekers to work while they await the outcome of an asylum application.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish her Department’s lessons learned review of the transition to ASPEN cards for asylum seekers in summer 2021.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of AsylumMatters’ November 2021 report, Lessons Learned: How government contracts failed people seeking asylum, again.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Married People

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the merits of including endometriosis amongst the medical criteria which allow consideration of escalating spousal visa applications on compelling or compassionate grounds.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Applications

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum applications received by her Department since 1 January 2022 have been classified as straightforward as defined in her Department's customer service standards.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Applications

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce administrative errors on the visa application with reference GWF06412451; and if her Department will fast-track the reissuing of paperwork for that application where necessary.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on the impact of the cost of a Pakistan visa on the ability of people residing in that country to relocate to the UK following a successful application under the Afghan Assistance and Relocation policy.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Seasonal Workers: Hospitality Industry

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate access to foreign seasonal labour for the hospitality sector.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police Community Support Officers

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of police community support officers in tackling neighbourhood crime; what estimate she has made of the number of police community support officers by police force area in each year since 2010; and whether her Department is taking steps to increase the number of police community support officers.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Seasonal Workers: Hospitality Industry

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of foreign seasonal labour in the hospitality sector in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Politics and Government: Russia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps in response to pro-Putin campaigners within the UK.

Damian Hinds: Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in the UK, even for those with views that this Government and the wider British public do not agree with. This is one of the many differences which make the UK a vibrant democracy, in contrast to Putin’s regime.The National Security Bill (introduced into Parliament on 11 May) will create a new offence of Foreign Interference to deter and disrupt illegitimate activity carried out on behalf of, or conducted with the intention to benefit foreign states, which harms UK interests and undermines our institutions, political system, rights and ultimately UK interests and our national security.This will not impact legitimate campaigning.

Home Office: Redundancy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the proposed 91,000 jobs due to be cut from the civil service will be from her Department.

Damian Hinds: All Departments, including the Home Office have been asked to develop plans to deliver against the target to return the Civil Service workforce to the level it was at in 2016.The Home Office is currently conducting a Workforce Review in line with the direction set by the Prime Minister. This will consider the entire civil service workforce of the department and it’s arms length bodies.Departments are required to provide their plans to the Cabinet Office by 30th June.Specific reductions have not yet been agreed for any Government department.

Press Freedom

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the National Security Bill on press freedom.

Damian Hinds: The Government has always taken a strong leadership role in the fight for global media freedom and the protection of the important values we hold dear, such as freedom of expression.The National Security Bill will protect our freedoms and democracy and keep us safe by making the UK a harder target for states to conduct hostile activity in or against.The Bill includes appropriate safeguards to ensures that legitimate activity is not inhibited.

Visas: Ukraine

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied minors from Ukraine have (a) applied for a UK visa and (b) had their visa applications approved since the Russian invasion of that country.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Ukrainian minors travelling without their parents to come to the UK in the event that they (a) have already fled Ukraine and (b) are travelling with other relatives who are over the age of 18, provided that relevant safeguarding criteria is met.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Ukranian refugees who have successfully applied for a visa since the Russian invasion but have not yet come to the UK because another member of their family who they are travelling with has not yet had their visa approved.

Kevin Foster: Unaccompanied minors are only eligible under the Homes for Ukraine scheme if they are reuniting with a parent or legal guardian in the UK – this is outlined in the Immigration Rules.Data on the number of people issued under Homes for Ukraine can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Where we have applications from family groups, we would look to group these decisions together, so families receive decisions wherever possible at the same time. Information on the number of visas granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Information requested which is not contained within this published data is not routinely captured. To capture numbers would require a manual trawl of data and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Refugees: Ukraine

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that Roma refugees from Ukraine are (a) able to reach the UK and (b) treated fairly in the visa application process.

Kevin Foster: The Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK.The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK. This revision to the process can mean applicants who submitted their applications at the same time, but via different biometric routes, may not receive their visas at the same time.Each case is treated fairly and judged on merit, taking into account the individual circumstances of the case.

Asylum: Pakistan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in each of the last five years who successfully claimed asylum in the UK were from Pakistan.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum outcomes at initial decision by nationality are published in tables Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Please note the breakdown published is the nationality of the applicant rather than the country the applicant came from.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2022.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Asylum: Rwanda

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse is of the flight to Rwanda scheduled to take off on 14 June 2022.

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the cost of the flight to Rwanda that is scheduled to depart on 14 June 2022 would need to paid for in full in the event that no asylum seekers are on the flight.

Tom Pursglove: Our priority will always be to keep our communities safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove those with no right to remain in the UK. Charter flight operations are an important means to remove individuals with no right to remain in the UK where there are limited scheduled routes. We manage the charter programme flexibly, balancing it with use of scheduled flights to best respond to operational needs. Costs for individual flights will vary based on a number of different factors and are regularly reviewed to ensure that best value for money is balanced against the need to remove those individuals with no right to remain in the UK. The endless merry go round of late legal claims – which are often unfounded or without merit – can result in people being removed from flights at the last minute. However, our New Plan for Immigration will stop the abuse of the system and expedite the removal of those who have no right to be here.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the nationalities of individuals attempting to illegally cross the English Channel in each month since January 2022 to date.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on small boat arrivals in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ release. Data on the top nationalities arriving by small boats is published in table Irr_02b of the ‘Irregular migration summary tables’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data cover up to March 2022.Data for April to June 2022 will be published on 25 August 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.

Asylum: Rwanda

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which air charter company is being used for deportation flights to Rwanda.

Tom Pursglove: Our priority will always be to keep our communities safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove those with no right to remain in the UK. For commercial reasons, we are unable to disclose the name of our contractor for this operation. Charter flight operations are an important means to remove individuals with no right to remain in the UK where there are limited scheduled routes. We manage the charter programme flexibly, balancing it with use of scheduled flights to best respond to operational needs. Costs for individual flights will vary based on a number of different factors and are regularly reviewed to ensure that best value for money is balanced against the need to remove those individuals with no right to remain in the UK. The endless merry go round of late legal claims – which are often unfounded or without merit – can result in people being removed from flights at the last minute. However, our New Plan for Immigration will stop the abuse of the system and expedite the removal of those who have no right to be here.

Asylum: Rwanda

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on (a) legal services and (b) flights associated with the relocation of people to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.

Tom Pursglove: Charter flight operations are an important means to remove individuals with no right to remain in the UK where there are limited scheduled routes. We manage the charter programme flexibly, balancing it with use of scheduled flights to best respond to operational needs. Everyone considered for relocation to Rwanda will be screened and have access to legal advice. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, and nobody will be removed if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.The Government’s efforts to facilitate entirely legitimate and legal returns of people who have entered the UK illegally are too often frustrated by late challenges submitted hours before the flight. These claims are very often baseless and entirely without merit but are given full legal consideration which can lead to removal being rescheduled. Costs for individual flights and legal services will vary based on a number of different factors and are regularly reviewed to ensure that best value for money is balanced against the need to remove those individuals with no right to remain in the UK.

Fire and Rescue Services

Ian Levy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reform and strengthen the fire and rescue service.

Kit Malthouse: The government’s priority is keeping the public safe. Our fire reform white paper was published last month and is open for consultation until the 26th of July.The proposals set out will ensure that fire and rescue services are highly skilled, professionally led and governed, and able to fully support the communities they serve.

Crime Prevention

Dr James Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on delivering the Beating Crime Plan.

Kit Malthouse: We are making great strides in delivering our plan to drive down crime.We have recruited over 13,500 additional police officers, expanded our network of violence reduction units and hotspot policing to target those areas worst-affected by serious violence, and continued our relentless effort to degrade and dismantle the county lines drug-dealing model.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Craig Tracey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of small boat crossings in the English Channel.

Tom Pursglove: Working with our French counterparts, our focus is on deterring and preventing people from entering the Channel, tackling the criminal gangs responsible and protecting lives.The new Migration and Economic Partnership with Rwanda, together with the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act also seek to create a deterrent effect.

Sexual Harassment: Public Places

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2022 to Question 156340 on Sexual Harassment: Public Places, on what date she will publish the Government's consultation on public sexual harassment.

Rachel Maclean: We look forward to receiving the views of respondents to the consultation, which will help ensure that the Government is in the most informed position in determining its policies on public sexual harassment.We will commence the consultation before the summer recess.

Passports: Applications

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fast track passport applications were submitted from 1 March to 1 June In (a) 2019 and (b) 2022.

Kevin Foster: Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport. Between March and May 2022 approximately 98.5% of UK applications processed were completed within ten weeks.Urgent services are only required where an applicant needs a passport sooner than ten weeks. For the small percentage of customers whose applications take longer than ten weeks, there is an expedited service at no additional cost to help ensure that they receive their passport ahead of their travel.

Home Office: Telephone Services

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new enquiries her Department’s MP hotline teams dealt with in each month in 2021; what steps her Department is taking to manage the (a) performance and (b) case management of those teams; what steps she is taking to oversee the performance of those MP hotlines; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The volume of individual calls handled in 2021, by month, detailed below. Calls answered Jan-21 860 Feb-21 885 Mar-21 1042 Apr-21 919 May-21 808 Jun-21 1188 Jul-21 1103 Aug-21 1314 Sep-21 1590 Oct-21 1633 Nov-21 1611 Dec-21 1352 Totals14305 Average wait time for calls in this period was 24 seconds.We have seen significant increase in call volumes to the MP enquiry line in recent months linked to the situation in Ukraine and to HMPO passport applications. This has resulted in lengthy average wait times.We have now increased resources working on the MP Enquiry Line and call waiting times are now retuning to 2021 levels.MP’s also can contact the Home Office via the MP’s Urgent Enquiries inbox or in person at the Portcullis House walk-in hub.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many potential sponsors through the Homes for Ukraine scheme have not been able to house a Ukrainian refugee because those refugees have not been granted UK visas due to being classified as unaccompanied minors.

Eddie Hughes: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Council Tax: Energy Bills Rebate

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what instructions his Department has provided to councils on paying residents the £150 council tax rebate for those households which do not pay council tax via direct debit; and what alternatives methods are available for paying the rebate other than it being paid directly into a bank account.

Kemi Badenoch: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how long a Ukrainian national in resident in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can return to Ukraine for before the payment to the UK sponsor of that person ceases.

Eddie Hughes: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Rented Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether small housing association providers with fewer than1000 properties will be covered by the provisions of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill.

Eddie Hughes: The Bill will enable a new, proactive approach to regulating social housing landlords on consumer issues, and will give tenants and the Regulator of Social Housing new tools to hold landlords to account. These changes will drive up the standard of social housing across the country and relate to all registered providers of social housing, regardless of their size.

Leasehold: Sales

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to introduce Phase 2 of legislation to ensure leaseholders can purchase the leasehold for their properties.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is committed to creating a fair and just housing system that works for everyone. This includes our comprehensive programme of reform to improve fairness and transparency in the leasehold market. In the next session of this Parliament we will bring forward reforms to supercharge leaseholders' ability to buy their freehold, helping millions of households genuinely to own their own home with the most significant discounts for those trapped with egregious, escalating ground rents.

Agriculture: Regional Planning and Development

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including projects on protecting farmland from flooding in the next allocation round of Levelling Up funding.

Neil O'Brien: The Levelling Up Fund will support urban and rural communities to deliver benefits across the United Kingdom. It is for bidding authorities to put forward the bids that they feel will best support their Levelling Up ambitions across the themes of Regeneration, Culture and Transport.Local authorities can also use their UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation for this type of intervention. This includes funding for new, or improvements to existing, community and neighbourhood infrastructure projects including those that increase communities' resilience to natural hazards, such as flooding. This could cover capital spend and running costs.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make a comparative assessment of the level of funding available for research and development from (a) European Structural Funds and (b) the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Neil O'Brien: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is the successor to the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Fund ramps up to £1.5 billion a year in 2024/25 matching the funding all UK regions received from EU Structural Funds.Places will be empowered to identify and build on their own strengths and needs at a local level. They can fund a range of interventions across the three investment priorities of the Fund, including supporting research and development activity, but this will be up to each place to decide as they will know and understand the unique needs and characteristics of their communities better than central government ever can.

Regional Planning and Development

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what metrics his Department uses to monitor the effectiveness of its Levelling Up agenda.

Neil O'Brien: The levelling up missions and metrics technical annex sets out the metrics we will be using to monitor progress against the levelling up missions. The Government will have a statutory duty to publish an annual report setting out progress against the 12 missions.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening the Homes for Ukraine scheme to Ukrainians who arrive under the Family Scheme Visa to enable families that cannot stay with other family members due to overcrowding, potential risks and safeguarding concerns in current housing to benefit from the Homes for Ukraine scheme in the medium-term and avoid homelessness.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 284 on 16 May 2022.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Children

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress he has made on guidance for unaccompanied minors applying under the Homes for Ukraine Visa scheme.

Eddie Hughes: The most up to date guidance for unaccompanied minors can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils .

Holiday Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department takes steps to monitor the impact of short term holiday lets on the supply of properties available for sale.

Stuart Andrew: As part of the Tourism Recovery Plan published in June 2021, the Government committed to consult on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England.The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will launch a call for evidence soon, to gather evidence on the size and shape of the market, and the positive and negative impacts of short term lets. This will inform development of policy options for a consultation later this year.

London County Council (Improvements) Act 1990

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when (a) the holder of his office and (b) the Government Legal Service considered the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1990 in each of the last 8 years.

Kemi Badenoch: The London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900 was considered ahead of the planning application for the Holocaust Memorial, submitted in December 2018, and has been considered subsequently in the context of a statutory review of the decision to grant planning consent.

Roma: Public Appointments

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to increase Romani representation in public life.

Kemi Badenoch: It is important that all members of a local community are able to able to access opportunities to participate in public life. Our Levelling Up White Paper outlined plans to remove barriers to community organisation and neighbourhood governance, supporting community leadership to take root and thrive. This includes launching a review of neighbourhood governance in England, looking at how to make it easier for local people and community groups to come together, set local priorities and shape the future of their neighbourhoods. The review will consider how people of all backgrounds can participate in neighbourhood governance.

Roma: Discrimination

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to help tackle discrimination against Romani people.

Kemi Badenoch: The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination for people because of various characteristics, including race, which covers colour, nationality, and ethnic and national origins. The Roma community is considered to be an ethnic group for the purposes of legislation.The Government sponsors the Equality Advisory & Support Service (EASS), which is a free helpline offering advice and support to anyone in England, Scotland, and Wales who feels that they have suffered discrimination or had their human rights infringed. One of the stakeholder organisations that the EASS regularly deals with is Friends, Families and Travellers which works on behalf of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

Local Government: Remote Meetings

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of ending arrangements for local authorities to meet remotely or in hybrid format, as permitted under the powers granted by section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, on democratic engagement by (a) councillors and (b) members of the public who are (i) disabled, (ii) clinically extremely vulnerable to covid-19 and (iii) carers for people who are disabled and clinically extremely vulnerable to covid-19; if he will make it his policy to permit local authorities to continue to meet remotely or in hybrid format on accessibility and equality grounds; and if he will make a statement.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government launched a call for evidence last year to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely and enable councillors to attend meetings remotely, if necessary, on a permanent basis. The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and we will respond shortly.

Help to Buy Scheme

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to protect people who have signed up to the Help to Buy Scheme from property developers altering completion dates of their building programmes to a date beyond the closure of that scheme; and what assessment he has made of the scale of that issue across the UK.

Stuart Andrew: Homes England have set out deadlines which are 31 October 2022 for customer applications for the scheme, 31December 2022 for practical completion of the house build and 31 March 2023 for the legal completion date. These dates were designed to ensure all transactions have time to complete and provide consumers with the confidence that their purchase would be completed prior to the scheme closing.Homes England have been clear developers should only take customer orders on properties that can meet these deadlines.Customers who are not able to use the Help to Buy scheme maybe able to use one of the other government schemes to help them purchase a home. Details of these schemes can be found at https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 as a framework for his Department's policies in England.

Neil O'Brien: The Department already considers long-term sustainability as part of all policy development. However, we will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations to share thinking on a range of policy and legislative issues.

Industry: Cultural Heritage

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support is available for local communities to repurpose industrial heritage sites for the benefit of local economies.

Neil O'Brien: Our industrial towns and cities have a proud history, and we are determined that they will have a bright future. Through our levelling up funds, we are tackling the economic differences and driving prosperity across the UK.Every part of the country will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - including the hon. lady's constituency of Barnsley East, which will benefit from a share of £46,162,439.Culture and heritage are key themes of our Levelling Up Fund, which provides an important boost to local economies through providing funding for maintaining, regenerating, or creatively repurposing existing cultural and heritage assets, or creating new assets that support the visitor economy.Further funding opportunities are available through the Community Ownership Fund, which helps communities take ownership of cultural and heritage assets at risk of closure, ensuring that small, and much-loved assets are safeguarded and can continue to benefit the local economy.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to provide financial support to leaseholders affected by high costs associated with remedial fire-safety works and unsafe cladding in residential buildings of betweeen 11 and 18 metres.

Stuart Andrew: No leaseholder living in their own flat above 11m will pay a penny to fix unsafe cladding and our new levy will protect leaseholders even if their developer has so far refused to sign up to our pledge.The Government is also launching a new 11-18m cladding remediation scheme to fund work on buildings where a responsible developer cannot be identified. The new scheme will be funded by expanding the scope of the Building Safety Levy to raise an additional estimated £3 billion, providing the necessary funds to address cladding issues on these remaining buildings. We will announce further detail on the launch of the 11-18m Remediation Fund shortly.

Northern Ireland Office

Royal Ulster Constabulary: Anniversaries

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Government has allocated funds to celebrate the formation of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 2022 in the context of the series of celebratory events planned in the Republic of Ireland.

Conor Burns: No funding has been allocated by the Government to mark this year’s centenary of the formation of the RUC. Events in Northern Ireland have been arranged locally and by the RUCGC Foundation. Further information may be sought from the PSNI, the RUCGC Foundation or the Department of Justice.

Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has plans to seek cross community support for the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill before it receives Royal Assent.

Conor Burns: The Government’s preference has always been to move forward on the basis of consensus. That is why we delayed the introduction of this legislation, and why it reflects a number of significant changes from the proposals contained within the Command Paper published last July. However, it is clear that the people of Northern Ireland have waited too long to see the implementation of effective legacy mechanisms which is why we have brought forward the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill. This legislation seeks to deliver effective outcomes for those most impacted by the Troubles and wider society. We will, of course, continue to engage with key stakeholders as this legislation makes its way through Parliament.

Treasury

Goods Vehicle Movement Service

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the road haulage firms that have registered with HM Revenue and Customs to use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service to move goods between ports in (a) England and Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and the Republic of Ireland and (c) Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC cannot publish names of road haulage firms that have registered to use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) due to taxpayer confidentiality. As of 5 June 2022 there have been over 23,000 GVMS registrations. Registrations allow for use on all GVMS routes.

Cryptocurrencies: Regulation

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with Financial Conduct Authority on steps to create a conducive operating environment for cryptoasset companies in the UK.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with representatives from the UK banking sector on ensuring that reputable and regulated digital asset companies can secure business bank accounts in the UK.

John Glen: The government set out at Fintech Week our firm ambition to make Britain a global hub for cryptoasset technology and investment. The government wants to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country. And the government have announced a number of reforms which will see the regulation and aspects of tax treatment of cryptoassets evolve – our clear message to cryptoasset firms is that the UK is open for business. These include committing to consult on a future regulatory regime later this year; legislating to bring stablecoins into payments regulation; setting up a ministerial-chaired Cryptoasset Engagement Group, bringing together key figures in industry; working with the Royal Mint to create a Non-Fungible Token; and exploring ways of enhancing the competitiveness of the UK tax system to encourage further development of the cryptoasset market in the UK. HM Treasury holds regular discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on a range of issues regarding the regulation of financial markets, including cryptoassets. The government established a Cryptoassets Taskforce in 2018, consisting of HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and the FCA. The Taskforce’s objectives include exploring the impact of cryptoassets, the potential benefits and challenges of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in financial services; as well as assessing what, if any, regulation is required in response. The decisions about what products are offered, including commercial accounts, and to whom remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.

Stamp Duties: Exemptions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of updating the growth market exemption to remove the requirement for a recognised growth market to be a recognised stock exchange.

John Glen: SME Growth Markets are a type of multilateral trading facility (MTF) that have a distinct set of regulatory requirements designed to help small and medium-sized (SME) issuers raise capital on public markets.MTFs, including growth markets, do not need to be operated by a recognised investment exchange (RIE). Although these can be operated by RIEs they can also be operated by investment firms and credit institutions, subject to FCA authorisation. This is set out in the FCA’s handbook.

Inflation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on inflation in the next three years.

John Glen: High inflation to date has been pushed up by global factors, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to significant price increases in goods and energy. In addition, the recent tightening in the labour market and rising cost pressures means that domestic factors are also playing a role and that inflationary pressures are becoming more broad-based. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility is the government’s official forecaster and will produce its next forecast in the autumn. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living because of high inflation. The government is providing over £15bn of additional support, building on the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.

National Savings and Investments: Media

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what total cost to the public purse, inclusive of VAT, was incurred by National Savings and Investments between May 2018 and May 2022 for media buying services provided under the Crown Commercial Service's media buying framework agreement reference RM6003.

John Glen: Details of HM Treasury and NS&I contracts procured using CCS’ Media Buying framework agreement (RM6003) are published on the Contracts Finder website.

Fuels: Taxation

Bim Afolami: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount raised by HM Treasury is on taxes relating to fuel sold to (a) domestic and (b) business consumers for every fiscal year since 2010 in both (i) nominal and (ii) inflation adjusted terms.

Helen Whately: The information is not available. HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden. Revenue from Fuel Duty is paid upon clearance to the market rather than point of sale, and therefore no breakdown between domestic and business consumers is held.

Diesel: Prices

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the (a) coach industry (b) haulage industry in light of rising diesel costs; and if he will introduce an essential user rebate on fuel duty by taking 15ppl of the cost of fuel for commercial road users.

Helen Whately: At the Spring Statement, the Government announced a temporary cut in duty on petrol and diesel of 5 pence per litre. This represents a tax cut worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23. This benefits anyone who consumes fuel – including those in the coach industry and haulage industry. All taxes are kept under review.

Car Allowances

Peter Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of varying the approved mileage reclaim rate of 45p per mile in light of increasing fuel costs.

Helen Whately: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens. AMAPs aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAPs. Employers are not required to use the AMAPs. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising. Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. However, if the payment exceeds the amount due under AMAPs, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference. The Government keeps this policy under review.

Pensions: Inflation

Janet Daby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to introduce any additional measures aimed at helping pensioners to deal with inflationary pressures.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is providing £37 billion in cost of living support this year, including £15 billion in a new support package announced in late May. This includes extra support to help all pensioners stay warm this winter. Households eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment will receive an extra one-off payment of £300, paid in November/December alongside the existing Winter Fuel Payment. Pensioners, as all domestic electricity customers, will see £400 off their bills from October with no need to repay, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme. In addition, households in receipt of Pension Credit will receive a one-off payment of £650 in two lump sums, the first from July and the second in the autumn. Further support for pensioners can be provided by local authorities through the Household Support Fund, which will be in place until April 2023. Next year, the Triple Lock will apply for the State Pension. Subject to the Secretary of State’s review, pensions and other benefits will be uprated by this September’s CPI which, on current forecasts, is likely to be significantly higher than the forecast inflation rate for 2023/24.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will publish the Government's response to the Alcohol Duty Review.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the Small Breweries' Relief on breweries that produce less than 5000hl of beer annually.

Helen Whately: The alcohol duty review consultation closed on 30 January 2022 and the Government is currently reviewing the responses. We will publish the consultation response later this year. This will include further detail on the Small Producer Relief which will be replacing the Small Brewers Relief.

Hospitality Industry: Small Businesses

Damien Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that small pubs, bars, and restaurants are not required to close as a result of rising utility bills.

Helen Whately: The Government recognises that a number of businesses are facing cost pressures driven by global factors, including high energy and commodity prices and supply chain disruption. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fully shield everyone from the global challenges we face. Unlike households, businesses can absorb or pass on some of these costs. The government’s immediate priority is taking action that will support families to navigate the months ahead. Over the past two years, government has taken unprecedented action to protect millions of businesses. We have also brought forward a number of measures to support businesses this year including:The Recovery Loan Scheme, providing businesses with up to £2 million of government guaranteed finance.Cutting business rates by 50% for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in 2022-23, worth up to £110,00 per business.Increasing the Employment Allowance from £4,000 to £5,000, cutting the cost of employment for 495,000 small businesses.The Super-deduction, allowing companies to cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest in qualifying productivity enhancing plant and machinery assets until March 2023.Increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to £1 million.The Help to Grow programme, which will support thousands of SMEs to access subsidised leadership and management training and productivity-enhancing software.Fuel duty: Businesses will also benefit from the cut to fuel duty announced by the Chancellor announced as part of his Spring Statement. The duty rate on petrol and diesel has been cut by 5p per litre until March 2023.We are in regular contact with business groups about the challenges businesses are facing and we will continue to keep the situation under review.

Apprentices: Taxation

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence of 15 June 2022 from the Minister for Higher and Further Education to the Education Select Committee and the Answer of 6 April 2022 to Question 149234 on Apprentices: Taxation, what the process will be for the Government's review of the working of the Apprenticeships Levy; and whether there will be an opportunity for (a) employers, (b) trades unions, (c) colleges and other training providers, (d) hon. Members, (e) councils and (f) other stakeholders to submit evidence to that review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the evidence from the Minister for Higher and Further Education to the Education Select Committee on 15 June 2022 and to the Answer of 6 April 2022 to Question 149235 on Apprentices: Taxation, when he plans to (a) undertake and (b) publish the review the Apprenticeships Levy; and when he plans for stakeholders to engage with the review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence of 15 June 2022 from the Minister for Higher and Further Education to the Education Select Committee and the Answer of 6 April 2022 to Question 149240 on Apprentices: Taxation, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Levy on (a) levels of funding for new apprenticeships, (b) support for new provision for the acquisition of skills and (c) the rebadging of existing training since it was introduced; and whether he has plans to use such assessments to inform the review of the Apprenticeships Levy first announced as part of the Spring Statement on 23 March 2022.

Mr Simon Clarke: As part of the Spring Statement, the Chancellor committed to examining the tax system, including the operation of the Apprenticeship Levy, to determine whether it is doing enough to incentivise businesses to invest in the right kinds of training needed for the economy to strengthen and grow. The Chancellor considers that a new culture of enterprise is essential to drive growth through higher productivity. The government’s ambition is to create the conditions for the private sector to invest more, train more and innovate more to encourage greater levels of private sector investment in employee training. The Apprenticeship Levy is a key part of this ambition. Since its introduction in 2017, it has helped employers of all sizes and sectors invest in and train apprentices, providing their businesses with the skills they need to meet their customers’ needs and grow. Employers who pay the Apprenticeship Levy can invest their funds in high-quality apprenticeship training, while the government covers 95 percent of the training costs for employers who do not pay the Levy using unspent Levy funds. The government has already transformed apprenticeships – which are jobs with training for anyone of any age, at any level or stage of their career – to align with employer needs. Since the announcement of the Apprenticeship Levy in May 2015, over 2.7 million apprenticeships have begun. The quality requirements placed on apprenticeships ensure that this training is beneficial to both learners and employers, providing the key skills both parties need to succeed and preventing the rebadging of existing training. The government continues to regularly engage with employers, training providers and other interested stakeholders of all sizes and sectors. The government recognises that employers have frustrations with the way that Apprenticeship Levy funds can be spend within the apprenticeships system. We welcome the comments of all interested parties on the workings of the apprenticeship system to ensure it continues to meet their needs. To address these frustrations, the Government has delivered various improvements to the apprenticeship system. These include the launch of Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agencies – with 10 employers receiving a share of £5 million of funding to set up - and the introduction of the Pledge and Match Levy transfer system. Since launching in September 2021, 110 employers including Amazon UK, DPD and HomeServe have pledged to transfer over £7 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes and sectors. While there will not be a formal review of the Apprenticeship Levy or system, the government is committed to protecting the quality of apprenticeship training and making further improvements to the system to respond to the legitimate concerns raised by employers. The Chancellor will update the House further in the Autumn.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 30 March 2022 from the hon. member for West Lancashire on food insecurity, reference ZA59357.

Mr Simon Clarke: I responded to the honourable member’s correspondence on 15 June.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether people on Contributory Employment and Support Allowance are eligible for (a) the Energy Bills Support Scheme, (b) the Warm Home Discount Scheme and (c) Cold Weather Payments.

Mr Simon Clarke: All households with a domestic electricity meter will receive a universal rebate of £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This is a doubling of the £200 of support announced in February, and there will no longer be any repayments. In England and Wales, the £150 Warm Home Discount is targeted to all recipients of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit and also those households who receive means-tested benefits and whose homes are estimated to have the highest energy requirements. In Scotland, the £150 Warm Home Discount is also targeted to all recipients of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit and then certain low income and vulnerable households can apply to their energy supplier to receive the £150 rebate. The qualifying income-related benefits for the £25 Cold Weather Payments are Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and Universal Credit. There are additional qualifying conditions that have to be met to receive the payment.

Money Laundering: Public Consultation

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will publish the call for evidence on the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regulatory and supervisory regime by the 26 June 2022 deadline as set out in the Money Laundering Regulations.

John Glen: HM Treasury issued a Call for Evidence in July 2021 to inform a review of the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regime. This review will be published before the 26 June 2022 deadline as part of HM Treasury’s legal obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Holiday Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will introduce a consultation on legislative measures to address the rise in short term holiday lets in this parliamentary Session.

Nigel Huddleston: The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in June 2021, committed to considering a Tourism Accommodation Registration Scheme in England.To better understand the issues faced by both communities and businesses, we intend to launch a call for evidence soon, seeking views on the range of issues that arise from the increase in short term and holiday letting.We also want to improve the evidence base and better understand the market today, including the benefits and challenges of the increase in short-term and holiday letting we have seen in England in recent years.

Platinum Jubilee 2022: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had recent discussions with council leaders in Northern Ireland on community arts projects for the Platinum Jubilee; and if he will provide additional funding to the devolved nations for this purpose.

Chris Philp: I have not held any recent discussions with Council leaders in Northern Ireland in relation to Community Arts projects for the Platinum Jubilee.I am however pleased that £11.5m of UK-wide funding was made available through the National Lottery Community Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help communities mark the Jubilee.Decisions on funding for community arts projects are devolved to each devolved nation.

Telephone Services: Prices

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on (a) Openreach and (b) other network operators increasing network service prices in 2021.

Julia Lopez: Ofcom is an independent regulator and the government has no say over its regulatory decisions.However, in the Statement of Strategic Priorities, the government has set out a priority for Ofcom to seek stable and long-term regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators.With regard to network prices, in the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review published in 2021, Ofcom set out pricing remedies on Openreach in light of its market position. In doing so, it noted that its regulation was designed to give regulatory certainty and allow companies to make a fair return whilst ensuring consumers continue to have access to affordable broadband as new networks are rolled out. Volume 4 of the Review sets out Ofcom’s reasoning for its approach to price remedies by area in more detail.With regard to retail prices, Ofcom’s 2021 Pricing Trends report showed that the telecoms market generally delivers good value for money for consumers. Low-cost broadband social tariffs are also available for households in receipt of Universal Credit and certain means-tested benefits.

Channel Four Television

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times she has met the senior management at Channel 4 since her appointment.

Julia Lopez: During the consultation period, the Government worked closely with Channel 4’s management to understand the challenges and opportunities the changing market presents and different models and plans that might support Channel 4’s future.DCMS ministers and officials continue to meet regularly with Channel 4.

Channel Four Television: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with representatives of Channel 4 on whether its higher education partnerships in (a) Belfast and (b) Newry will remain open after privatisation.

Julia Lopez: The Government values Channel 4’s work in developing skills and talent pipelines, particularly in the nations and regions.The Government would expect any new owner to have a business interest in supporting the development of talent and skills across the UK creative industries, as many of our public service and other broadcasters already do.

Television: Disability Aids

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase the use of subtitles on television.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises the importance of subtitling and supports television being accessible to all. As the independent broadcast regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding broadcasters to account for the delivery of television access services which includes the provision of subtitling. Statutory targets are set by Ofcom which include five and ten year targets for licensed television services. Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services sets out these obligations and provides guidance and best practice on subtitling for broadcasters.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government's contribution to Project Stratum and the rollout of broadband to rural areas of Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the progress of that project; and if he will take steps to help ensure that residents in the most rural areas of Strangford constituency benefit from that project.

Julia Lopez: Northern Ireland currently has the most gigabit-capable coverage of all the nations with 85% of premises already covered. This is in part due to the UK Government’s £172 million investment in Project Stratum, which has delivered connections to over 29,000 premises, the UK Government’s funding of projects to deliver full-fibre to public sector sites, and measures to bust barriers to commercial rollout.Within the Strangford constituency, 93% of premises can access a superfast connection (>30Mbps) and 86% of premises are able to access a gigabit-capable connection. More than 4,700 premises are eligible to benefit from Project Stratum in the constituency. Current deployment plans confirm that more than 1,000 premises have been upgraded so far, with a further 1,700 premises scheduled to be completed this year and the remainder by the end of 2024.Residents in the most rural areas of the Strangford constituency may also be eligible for support via the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which supports rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Bills Rebate

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether residents of buildings with communal heating systems will be eligible for the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme grant.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many doses of (a) Pfizer and (b) Moderna Coronavirus Vaccines have been procured for under 5 year olds as of 15 June 2022.

George Freeman: There are no Covid-19 vaccines for under 5s currently approved for use in the UK, and as such we have not specifically procured vaccines for this cohort. The Government will continue monitoring developments and follow the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation going forward.

Energy Bills Rebate

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March to Question 143801 on Energy Bills Rebate, and with reference to the Energy Bills Support Scheme explainer published on 1 April 2022, if he will provide an update on the progress his department has made in ensuring that all households with a domestic electricity connection, including those using an electricity sub-meter in (a) park homes and (b) Multiple Dwelling Units, will be able to access the £400 energy rebate in October.

Greg Hands: All domestic electricity customers who have a direct relationship with a licensed electricity supplier will be automatically eligible for this Scheme.Households without a domestic electricity supply contract are not eligible for the Scheme and we are exploring options for other ways in which they might receive similar support. This was raised in our technical consultation (Energy Bills Support Scheme – Managing the impact of the energy price shock on consumer bills) which closed on the 23 May. Responses to the consultation are being analysed and the Government response will be published in the summer.

Energy Bills Rebate: Billing

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to (a) review and (b) implement the findings of the consultation on the technical proposals for the Energy Bills Support Scheme which closed on 11 April 2022; and how his Department will ensure payment of that support to people who pay their energy bills through third parties.

Greg Hands: The Energy Bills Support Scheme consultation closed on 23 May. Responses are being analysed and the government response will be published in the summer.There will be different considerations for consumers depending on their circumstances.All domestic electricity customers who have a direct relationship with a licensed electricity supplier will be automatically eligible for this Scheme.The Government continues to work with consumer groups and suppliers on the delivery of the scheme to domestic electricity customers and is exploring options for other ways in which customers who do not have a domestic electricity contract might receive similar support.

Energy: Billing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support people whose direct debit for energy bills has been significantly increased by their energy provider without notice causing them to enter an unarranged overdraft.

Greg Hands: Suppliers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that customers’ direct debit payments are based on the best available information. A supplier should explain the reasons for changes made, with at least 10 days advance notice before the next payment is taken. The customer may challenge a proposed increase and renegotiate the payment level. Ofgem are undertaking a series of market compliance reviews to assess whether recent direct debit increases are justified. The Government has announced a package of additional measures to provide immediate support, totalling over £37 billion this year, including a £400 grant to households to help with their energy bills.

Energy Company Obligation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to take steps to support people who are not able to apply for funding through Energy Company Obligation ECO3 after that scheme expires at the end of June 2022.

Greg Hands: The Government is providing support of at least £1,200 this year to almost all of the 8 million most vulnerable households across the UK. This includes a new one-off £650 cost of living payment to households on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credit and legacy benefits. Separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits will also be available as these groups are the most vulnerable to rising prices. Universal support will increase to £400, as the October discount on energy bills is doubled and the requirement to repay it over five years is scrapped. This new £15 billion support package is targeted towards millions of low-income households and brings the total cost of living support to £37 billion this year.

Energy Company Obligation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department has not yet published regulations to implement Energy Company Obligation ECO4.

Greg Hands: The Government expects to lay regulations for ECO4 this month.

Energy: Meters

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of households with energy pre-payment meters in Feltham and Heston constituency.

Greg Hands: The Government does not have this data at constituency level and keeps records of households with pre-payments by regions. More information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stastics.

Hydrogen: Exports

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to help support businesses that export hydrogen.

Greg Hands: The Government is working with industry to assess strengths and capabilities in UK supply chains to help them benefit from the emerging global hydrogen economy and capitalise on export opportunities as they arise. In its British Energy Security Strategy, the Government doubled the UK’s hydrogen production ambition to up to 10GW installed capacity by 2030, driven by policies including the Hydrogen Business Model and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. The primary objective of these policies is to kickstart the UK’s low carbon hydrogen economy.

Energy: Prices

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the real terms increase in household energy bills in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each year since 2019.

Greg Hands: Quarterly statistics on energy prices by region may be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/quarterly-energy-prices . The Government does not have data at the constituency level. The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices is having on consumers, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year.

Conditions of Employment

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on its response to its consultation, Measures to reform post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment.

Paul Scully: The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and the available data. A response to the consultation will be published on the GOV.UK website in due course.

Renewable Energy: Grants

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to introduce grants for small and medium sized business to allow them to invest in renewable energy sources.

Greg Hands: The Government is supporting commercial rooftop solar installation through tax-relief to businesses choosing to install solar panels until March 2023 and business rates exemption for onsite-renewable generation until March 2035. Subject to conditions, existing permitted development rights allow solar on and around domestic and commercial buildings without planning permission. In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government committed to reviewing the rights and simplify planning processes. Under the Smart Export Guarantee, small-scale low-carbon electricity generators, with a total installed capacity of up to 5MW, and micro-combined heat and power up to 50kW, can receive payment for renewable electricity they export.

Energy: Meters

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households have prepayment meters or (a) electricity and (b) gas; and what proportion of each category has smart meters.

Greg Hands: Official statistics show that, at the end of 2021, 14% of households had a prepayment service; the proportion is the same for both gas and electricity. The latest statistics on Quarterly Energy Prices are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-energy-prices-march-2022.The Government’s official statistics on the rollout of smart meters show that, at the end of 2021, 13% of all smart meters were in prepayment mode, broadly in line with levels of prepayment meters in the market. These statistics are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/smart-meters-in-great-britain-quarterly-update-december-2021.

Drax Power Station: Timber

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many tonnes of wood pellets were burnt at the Drax Power station in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021; and what the maximum quantity of wood pellets burnt permitted is under the contract which runs to 2027.

Greg Hands: Data on tonnes of wood burned at Drax power station under the Renewable Obligation (RO) can be found here https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2020-21. Figures for the Contract for Difference (CfD) are as follows:19/20 - 2,473,567.82 Tonnes20/21 - 2,643,105.01 Tonnes Drax’s support under the RO and their CfD contract sets no limits on the quantity of wood pellets that the generator may burn.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has held discussions with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (b) the Secretary of State for International Trade and (c) the Secretary of State for Transport on encouraging companies to invest in the manufacturing of hydrogen vehicles in the UK.

Greg Hands: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly meets his Cabinet colleagues to discuss measures to support the transformation of the road transport sector to net zero, including investment opportunities in hydrogen vehicles.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to encourage investment in the manufacturing of hydrogen vehicles.

Greg Hands: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly meets his Cabinet colleagues to discuss measures to support the transformation of the road transport sector to net zero, including investment opportunities in hydrogen vehicles.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Dom Phillips

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Brazilian counterpart on the disappearance of Dom Phillips.

Vicky Ford: I was sorry to hear that Dom Phillips's body has now been identified. My thoughts are with his family. I [Minister Ford] discussed the search and rescue effort with Brazil's Justice and Public Security Minister on 9 June. I [Minister Ford] am grateful to everyone who was involved in the searches. Consular officials in Sao Paulo and London continue to provide support to Mr Phillips' family in Brazil and the UK. My officials at the British Embassy in Brazil remain in regular and close contact with the Brazilian authorities as the investigation into this case proceeds.

Jagtar Singh Johal

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the detainment of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously, and we regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India at official and Ministerial level. The Prime Minister raised Mr Johal's case with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 April as part of a wide-ranging discussion. The Foreign Secretary last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 31 March 2022. Consular staff have attended a number of hearings in Mr Johal's case in an observer capacity, and did so on 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 June. This Government will continue to look to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case at all appropriate opportunities.

National Bank Trust: Sanctions

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has considered imposing sanctions on National Bank Trust.

Vicky Ford: We assess that the National Bank Trust is owned by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The CBR is subject to a ban on the provision of financial services for the purposes of foreign exchange and asset management. Over 3 million Russian companies, including National Bank Trust, are barred from raising money in the UK's capital markets. While we do not speculate on future sanctions, nothing and no one is off the table and we will continue to ratchet up the pressure on Putin and his regime.

India: Foreign Relations

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she last had discussions with her Indian counterpart.

Vicky Ford: The Foreign Secretary visited India on 31 March where she met with India's Minister of External Affairs Dr Jaishankar. The Foreign Secretary's visit focussed on deepening defence-related trade and co-operation between our two countries, alongside further strengthening our bilateral partnership and cooperation on international issues.

Energy Charter Treaty

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty alongside other European countries.

Vicky Ford: The Government considers that it is important to remain a Party to the Energy Charter Treaty and support its modernisation, as the Government believes that a renegotiated Energy Charter Treaty will remain valuable in supporting clean energy investment in the future.The Government welcomes the role of the Energy Charter Treaty in ensuring consistent legal protection for UK investors operating abroad. This allows UK companies, investing in countries that have signed the Treaty, to enjoy more protection for their assets, including those involved in renewable energy production.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she wil take steps to prioritise British Council contractors completing expressions of interest in the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme for (a) approval and (b) relocation; and if she will ensure that contractors who are deemed at most risk are expedited for (i) approval and (ii) relocation.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will ensure that British Council contractors deemed eligible for relocation under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and at very high risk will be approved and processed in a way that enables them to leave Afghanistan and travel to the UK for resettlement ahead of other candidates and as soon as possible.

James Cleverly: Under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government will consider Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from eligible at risk British Council Contractors for possible resettlement, as well as from Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni. The FCDO will launch an online system on Monday 20 June to begin accepting EOIs; this will be open until Sunday 14 August. The scheme will help those at risk in Afghanistan and the neighbouring region. Expressions of Interest from British Council contractors, and the other eligible groups, will be considered in the order in which they are received. Some will be prioritised because of the role they performed or the project they worked on, or in exceptionally compelling circumstances.

Qatar: Baha'i Faith

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has received on the Baha’i community in Qatar; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Annex to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, published in March 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding that members of the Baha’i minority in Qatar have been reportedly subject to administrative deportations and blacklisting resulting in loss of employment, income, and separation of families.

Amanda Milling: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.The Foreign Secretary last visited Qatar in October 2021 where she had a number of discussions with key interlocutors, including His Highness the Amir. Human rights, including women and girls' issues were discussed, but the Baha'i community was not discussed. FCDO Officials, both in the UK and in Doha, have and will continue to engage with members of the Baha'i community in Qatar. Earlier this year, officials in Doha raised the challenges faced by some members of the Baha'i community with the Director for Human Rights from the Qatari Ministry of Interior and Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The UK Ambassador to Qatar has also raised the issue with Qatari Ministers, who agreed to look into the issue. We will continue to raise these issues with the Qatari Government, including in light of the Special Rapporteur's for Freedom of Religion or Belief's report 'Rights of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict or insecurity' published in March 2022.

Nicaragua: Military Aid

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Costa Rican counterpart on the deployment of Russian troops and equipment to Nicaragua.

Vicky Ford: Since 2012, Nicaragua's Congress has approved the entry of foreign military personnel, including Russians, into the country. The recent Nicaraguan presidential decree again authorises access to Nicaragua for military assets from the United States, Russia and regional countries for humanitarian reasons and training. The Minister for Latin America, Vicky Ford MP, met with Costa Rica's Foreign Minister, Arnold's Andre, at the Summit of Americas on 9 June 2022 and discussed the 7 June 2022 decree, amongst other issues. We have also discussed this issue with other partners in the Americas and will continue to monitor the situation.

Egypt: Foreign Relations

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she last had discussions with her Egyptian counterpart.

James Cleverly: The UK Government is in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities at all levels to discuss the bilateral and regional matters that concern both countries. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs met Foreign Minister Shoukry at the UN in September. Most recently Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for North Africa spoke to Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 May and met with him during his visit to Cairo in April.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Telephone Services

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many new enquiries her Department’s MP hotline teams dealt with in each month in 2021; what steps her Department takes to manage the (a) performance and (b) case management of teams that deal with those enquiries; what steps she is taking to oversee the performance of those hotlines; and if she will make a statement.

Amanda Milling: The FCDO has an 24/7/365 consular hotline for MPs to raise cases involving their British national constituents who are overseas and in need of consular assistance. The MP's consular hotline handled 1,839 calls during 2021 with an average time to answer calls of less than 30 seconds.2021Calls handledJanuary77February111March120April55May65June53July82August844September202October93November67December70Total1839The Consular hotline for MPs is staffed using FCDO consular staff, and their performance is overseen within Consular Directorate. The MP hotline, along with the telephone lines for members of the public, are managed internally through a robust performance system with ambitious Key Performance Indicators.

Ethiopian Airlines: Accidents

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Ethiopian Government on the release of the final air accident report for Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed on the 10th March, 2019.

Vicky Ford: Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families of this tragic accident, and I appreciate the distress caused by the ongoing delays. Officials at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa have been in contact with the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Air Accident Investigation Department to discuss and lobby for the release of the final air accident report, and will continue to do so. During our last contact we were informed that, whilst no date has yet been set for the report's release, it is currently being finalised and that it will be released as soon as possible. In line with their international obligations, the Ministry of Transport issued an interim statement ahead of the 3rd anniversary.

Ukraine: Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that people living with HIV and TB in Ukraine during the war can access essential services and treatment; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Global Fund's investments in that country.

Amanda Milling: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. As an active Board Member, the UK supported the Global Fund's allocation of US $15 million in emergency funding to Ukraine to support the continuity of HIV and TB prevention, testing and treatment services. Over the last 20 years, the Global Fund has invested more than US $850 million in Ukraine for HIV and TB programmes and to fight COVID-19 by protecting front-line workers and reinforcing systems for health. Through the Global Fund and its partners investments, in 2020 alone, nearly 150,000 people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV and nearly 19,000 people were treated for TB.

India: Demonstrations

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on the recent protests in Uttar Pradesh; whether she plans to meet her Indian counterpart to discuss those protests; and whether she has plans to visit that country in the near future.

Vicky Ford: We are aware of recent reports that properties were demolished in Uttar Pradesh and we condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow these reports closely, while recognising that this is a matter for India. The Foreign Secretary speaks regularly with her Indian counterpart and visited India most recently in March 2022.

Palestinians: Textbooks

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 May 2022 to Question 8084, what the Government's position is on the findings of the EU review into Palestinian textbooks that the Palestinian Authority school curriculum features anti-Israel, antisemitic content; and if she will make a statement on her Department’s aid strategy to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Amanda Milling: We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable and has no place in education. The report commissioned by the EU into Palestinian textbooks highlights meaningful progress but also indicates that problematic content remains. We continue to raise our concerns to the highest level of the Palestinian Authority and urge removal of the content. The UK is a longstanding supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We accompany our support for the UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks and other learning material to ensure they reflect UN values.

Hong Kong: Foreign Nationals

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support Hong Kong nationals in the UK who are required by potential employers to provide a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction but are unable to obtain that document from the Hong Kong police due to fears for their safety or that of their family and friends in that country.

Amanda Milling: There are statutory requirements for employers in the UK to carry out Certificates of No Criminal Convictions (CNCC) checks in specified roles in the health and education sectors. The updated guidance on CNCCs can be found on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-hong-kong-and-macao. Individuals can apply for a CNCC online and do not need to return to Hong Kong or specify their terms of residence in the UK.

Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on (a) the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and (b) the increased funding requirements of the Global Fund at its upcoming seventh replenishment.

Amanda Milling: The Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State recently discussed the upcoming 7th replenishment of the Global Fund. The UK is a stead-fast supporter of the Global Fund, investing over £4.1 billion in the organisation to date. We are the second largest donor to the 6th replenishment, with a pledge of up to £1.4 billion. The UK will continue to make a significant financial and leadership contribution to the Global Fund. We are currently reviewing the Global Fund's 7th replenishment investment case in line with our recently published International Development Strategy and will continue to work with all G7 and G20 members, including the US, to support progress in the fight against HIV, TB and Malaria.

Ukraine: Development Aid

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help support preparations for the rebuilding of Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK is fully behind Ukraine's vision for rebuilding a sovereign, prosperous, democratic nation that is stronger than before Putin's invasion. The Ukrainian Government has established a National Recovery Council, which will develop its National Recovery Plan, to be announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference at Lugano, Switzerland, 4-5 July. We are working with the Council to develop our support. We will be guided by Ukraine's priorities in harnessing the best of UK development, business and civil society capabilities in support of its recovery and reconstruction. The UK's total financial support for Ukraine so far stands at some $3.6 billion, including military, humanitarian and fiscal support.

EU Countries: Roma

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on safeguarding human rights for Romani people in EU countries.

James Cleverly: We remain resolute in our commitment to combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The UK Government is fully committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all individuals, everywhere, including members of Roma communities in Europe. We believe the best way to promote human rights is to encourage states to uphold their human rights obligations. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she is having with her counterpart in (a) Pakistan and (b) other states which may be able to support the relocation of British Council contractors who have been approved under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme; and what her timeframe is for putting in place arrangements to enable people who are most at risk to leave Afghanistan via those third countries.

James Cleverly: Under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government will consider Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from eligible at risk British Council Contractors for possible resettlement, as well as from Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni. The FCDO will launch an online system on 20 June to begin accepting EOIs; this will be open until 14 August. The scheme will help those at risk in Afghanistan and the neighbouring region. Expressions of Interest from British Council contractors, and the other eligible groups, will be considered in the order in which they are received. Some will be prioritised because of the role they performed or the project they worked on, or in exceptionally compelling circumstances.We will resettle those referred under the scheme as soon as possible after the necessary checks are completed. The UK has supported over 4,600 individuals to leave Afghanistan since the end of Operation Pitting. We are grateful to our partners, including the Government of Pakistan, for their cooperation, and we maintain close contact with all Governments in the region.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Public Opinion

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on (a) focus groups and (b) polling services in 2021.

Leo Docherty: Focus groups and polling services are not recorded centrally therefore, costs for the whole of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) cannot be identified. With regards to the MOD communications function and polling, we have counted this as quantitative opinion research, most often on external audiences. The MOD communications function (across Top Level Budgets) spent: £199,730 on polling in financial year 2021-22 £108,600 on focus groups in financial year 2021-22

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme: Appeals

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of appeals for judgments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme have been successful since 2010.

Leo Docherty: The number of appeals made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) cleared by claim type, outcome and financial year are listed in Table 4 of the AFCS Statistics available on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-202021 The following table is extracted from Table 4 and lists the total number of injury appeals cleared and their outcome from April 2010 to March 2021. Claim TypeOutcomeApr 10 - Mar 21Injury Appeals  Number of People 6,875  0Number of Injury AppealsAll17,425 New855 Increased1,235 Maintained3,475 Reduced50 Favourable Reconsideration1,715 Disallowed - Late appeal25 Overturned by Upper Tier Tribunal0 Out of jurisdiction55 The total number of appeals that resulted in a new award, increased award or a favourable reconsideration is 3,805 equating to 51.25% of all injury appeals. During the same period 89,260 injury claims were cleared.2  Whilst some of the decisions made on those claims may yet be appealed in future years, the number of favourable appeals compared with the total number of injury claims equates to 4.26%. Source: Compensation and Pensions System (CAPS)Please see the Background Quality Report at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-202021 for more information on appeal outcomes.Extracted from Table 2 of the official statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-202021

Ministry of Defence: Amazon Web Services

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Welfare Service staff have completed the Ministry of Defence DVIP course in 2022.

Leo Docherty: Eleven Army Welfare Service personnel have completed the course in 2022. The Course is also offered to other Defence personnel across all three Services such as Unit Welfare Officers (Military or Civilian) Service Police and Padres. It is not, however, run for external personnel.

Armed Forces: Protective Clothing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2022 to Question 15179 on Ajax Vehicles: Protective Clothing, what the value of Armoured Fighting Vehicle headset project is.

Jeremy Quin: The value of the Urgent Capability Requirement for Op CABRIT is £40,460 million. The total Armoured Fighting Vehicle Headset Project is currently seeking approval following the Formal Change Request.The headsets, though part of the hearing protection system, are not classed formally as PPE.

Military Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total number of real flight hours for Royal Air Force jests has been in each year since 2010.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total number of simulated flight hours for Royal Air Force jests has been in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Quin: The right hon. Member's Questions cover some seventeen fleets of jet-powered aircraft, some of which have been retired. The information regarding synthetic flying over this period is not held centrally.

European Fighter Aircraft

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) recent assessment he has made of the airworthiness of the current fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft operated by the RAF and (b) amount of funding his Department has allocated to maintain and upgrade the existing aircraft.

Jeremy Quin: The RAF's Continuing Airworthiness Management processes provide assurance that all Air Systems are airworthy, available, maintained to defined standards, and with sustained compliance to regulations.​The Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTAN) is a ten-year £2.1 billion agreement with BAE Systems for support for the Typhoon fleet, established in 2016.Continual modernisation is a core element of the Typhoon programme. The UK Government has approved investment to complete development of the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mark 2 and to deliver it into service via a four nation NATO programme called Phased 4 Enhancement (P4E). The P4E programme integrates ECRS Mk2 onto Typhoon together with a package of other upgrades agreed by the UK MOD and our partners.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of Combat Vehicle 90 for the Army.

Jeremy Quin: When selecting the new armoured fighting vehicle for the Army a number of possibilities were considered, including the CV90. After a full competitive process, the Ajax vehicles was selected. As part of normal business, the Ministry of Defence keeps a range of capabilities under review to ensure our Armed Forces are equipped to face future threats.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the evacuation of British nationals from Libya by the Royal Navy on HMS Enterprise in August 2014, (a) how many British nationals were evacuated and (b) what the eligibility criteria were for those evacuated.

James Heappey: This question requires more research than the right hon. Gentleman’s Named Day Question allows for. I will write to him once the relevant records have been interrogated.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with the Home Secretary on the impact of the Government's new Pakistan visa requirements on mortality rates of Afghan nationals trying to leave Afghanistan.

James Heappey: There has been no change in either the UK or Pakistan visa requirement for eligible Afghan nationals being relocated under the ARAP scheme. The UK Government continues to work closely with Pakistan to relocate eligible individuals.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2022 to Question 13634 on Military Aid: Ukraine, how much of the £1.3 billion funding for military support to Ukraine had been spent as of 15 June 2022.

James Heappey: I can confirm that £750 million of the £1.3 billion has been committed to the Ukrainian armed forces as of 15 June 2022. This £750 million includes the provision of both lethal and non-lethal aid.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what further steps he plans to take to assist Ukraine to neutralise the use of long-range artillery against civil and military targets by Russian armed forces; whether equipment, supplied to Ukraine by the UK for this purpose, will include unmanned aerial vehicles and other smart munitions; and if he will make a statement.

James Heappey: The UK has already committed £1.3 billion for military operations and has provided lethal aid that has assisted the Ukrainians to defend itself and its sovereignty. This military aid includes counter-battery radar and a range of unmanned aerial systems. We have recently announced, that we will be providing multiple launch rocket systems which will provide Ukraine with a significant boost in capability. Ministers have kept the House updated regularly on the situation in Ukraine and will continue to do so.

Military Aid: Coronavirus

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has paid in refunds of Nugatory Holiday Expenditure to service personnel assigned to Military Aid to the Civil Authorities tasks related to the covid-19 outbreak.

James Heappey: Defence met the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided a huge degree of support, with approximately 34,000 Armed Forces personnel deployed on 466 Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) tasks. Defence supported the wider Government's COVID-19 response, while maintaining the routine functioning of Government, critical Defence activities, and overseas commitments.Information on the total amount paid in refunds of Nugatory Holiday Expenditure to Service personnel deployed on Covid-19 related MACA tasks is not held centrally. Therefore, a full response could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Air Force: HIV Infection

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2022 to Question 136649, on Armed Forces: HIV infection, on what date the restriction on PrEP use by aircrew and air traffic controllers in the Royal Air Force will end.

Leo Docherty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 April 2022 to Question 148375. Revised policy is expected to be published in August 2022, with the aspiration to publish sooner if possible.Armed Forces: HIV Infection (docx, 20.5KB)

Veterans: Medical Records

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2022 to Question 9141 on Veterans: Medical Records, whether Defence Medical Services makes a regular assessment of the number of medical records it holds that have not been requested by a NHS GP.

Leo Docherty: The Defence Medical Services have established procedures in place to assist Service personnel in providing a copy of their medical records to their new civilian GP. However, many Service personnel choose not to prioritise their registration with a civilian GP, despite encouragement to do so, and it can be some years before a GP requests their medical records, if they are requested at all. Given this and that several thousand personnel leave the Armed Forces every year, it is not possible to accurately assess the total number of records not requested.

Army: Training

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer given on 11 June 20220 to Question 135700, on Army: Training, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of building and improving the Army's physical urban training environments to include (a) high rise buildings, (b) multi-story car parks and (c) other features found in modern cities, to allow the Armed Forces to train in a realistic urban physical context that represents the modern operating environment.

James Heappey: Between both the Army's Collective Training Establishment Transition Programme (CTETP) and the Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP), the Army is continuing to invest in urban training environments for use in physical training exercises, which includes the infrastructure that the right hon. Member describes.Together these investments will represent a step change in collective training capability that better prepares the Army in challenging, realistic, multi-domain and world-leading physical urban environments. These funded enhancements include instrumentation and the development of subterranean and multi-storey capabilities, delivered together across our current urban training facilities.In 2021, the Secretary of State for Defence approved the procurement for the first elements of a Mobile Urban Training Facilities capability, for use in Oman. This is one part of the proposed development of a Combined Regional Joint Training and Experimentation Centre being developed near Duqm. Additionally, the Army will also use the Bundeswehr's urban training facility at Altmark, Germany, for Army collective training from 2023.

Navy

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department expects the order of battle of the Navy to be by 2030.

James Heappey: In 2030, the Royal Navy will maintain its primary outputs of Homeland Defence, Carrier Strike, Littoral Strike and Persistent Engagement with more advanced capabilities, as part of Integrated Force 30.By this point, the transition from Vanguard to Dreadnought will be moving at pace, maintaining the nation's ultimate safeguard, while the Multi Role Ocean Surveillance programme will be monitoring and protecting our Critical National Infrastructure at sea.UK Carrier Strike will have reached Full Operating Capability, providing our conventional deterrent.All five Type 31 frigates will have been delivered and will be forward deployed around the world. The first batch of Type 26 frigates will be on operations, protecting our aircraft carriers and the nuclear deterrent, and the transition from crewed to autonomous minehunting through the Mine Hunting Capability programme will also be well advanced.The UK's Commando Forces will have been persistently engaged for over five years by this point, engaging with our allies and partners every day, while being ready to respond to crisis.

Hercules Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2022 to Question 13644 on Hercules Aircraft, over what time period has the £1.829 billion saving on the early retirement of the C130J Hercules fleet been calculated.

Jeremy Quin: The £1.829 billion saving covers the period from 2021 through to 2035.

Hashem Abedi and Salman Abedi

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Salman and Hashem Abedi were debriefed following their evacuation from Libya by the Royal Navy in August 2014.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence is aware of the historic Libyan links of the two named individuals (Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi). However, having completed a search of relevant records, we have found no information pertaining to the question.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department will sign a contract for the second tranche of 27 F-35 aircraft.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 19 May 2022 to Question 1104 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey). Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft Procurement (docx, 13.8KB)

Defence: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to help increase awareness in the defence industry of the meaning of social value during the tendering process.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has engaged with Defence Industry regarding social value from before the Policy was launched and subsequently. The MOD has a social value team whose remit includes engaging with defence industry. Under the umbrella of the Defence Supplier Forum a dedicated Social Value working group has been established, with the aim of promoting understanding, sharing best practice and lessons learnt. The working group is co-chaired with Industry and has attracted high levels of interest, it includes representatives from small and medium sized enterprises, trade bodies, mid-tier, as well as strategic suppliers. Members of the MOD's social value team regularly speak at a range of events, organised by industry bodies, and others raising awareness and understanding of social value.

Military Aid: Coronavirus

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2022 to Question 13633 on Military Aid: Coronavirus, how many of the 466 Military Aid to the Civil Authorities tasks relating to covid-19 have been completed in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) East Midlands.

James Heappey: Of the 466 Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) tasks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, 19 were completed in Yorkshire and Humber, 17 in East Midlands and two were completed across both regions as part of national tasks.

Agnes Wanjiru

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel of the Royal Military Police are currently working on the case of Agnes Wanjiru.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings have taken place between representatives of the Royal Military Police and Kenyan authorities in respect of the Agnes Wanjiru case.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role the Royal Military Police has in relation to the case of Agnes Wanjiru.

Leo Docherty: Jurisdiction for the investigation lies with the Kenyan authorities. The Royal Military Police (RMP) are proactively engaged with the Kenyan Police Service (KPS) to support and assist their investigation and, where appropriate and requested to do so, undertake investigative actions on behalf of the KPS. A number of formal and informal discussions have taken place, however, to protect the sanctity of the investigation and the interest of justice, we will not wish to comment in detail on activity.

Agnes Wanjiru

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has conducted an internal investigation into the actions of British personnel in the case of Agnes Wanjiru.

Leo Docherty: The Department is very concerned that this serious case should receive a full and robust investigation. The Ministry of Defence is working closely with Kenyan authorities to ascertain the facts of the case and we share Kenya's commitment to ensuring there is a full and robust investigation. Should evidence of criminal or disciplinary offences by Service Personnel come to light during the course of the investigation into Agnes Wanjiru's murder then the Royal Military Police will take appropriate action.

Scotland Office

Sovereignty: Scotland

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on its allocation of £20 million towards a potential independence referendum in 2023.

Mr Alister Jack: The UK Government is clear that now is not the time to talk about another referendum. Instead, our engagement with the Scottish Government needs to be focused on the collective challenges we face - that means, for example, tackling the cost of living, supporting the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees and growing our economy.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Visits Abroad

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the answer of 27 April 2022 to Question 155629 on Department for International Trade: Visits Abroad, for what reason the declaration of ministerial travel has not been updated as of 14 June 2022.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

UK Export Finance: Media

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what total cost to the public purse, inclusive of VAT, was incurred by UK Export Finance between May 2018 and May 2022 for media buying services provided under the Crown Commercial Service's media buying framework agreement reference RM6003.

Mike Freer: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Trade Agreements: Gulf States

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2022 to Question 5415 on Trade Agreements: Gulf States, whether any of the polling questions asked by Ipsos Mori concerned UK attitudes on human rights in the Gulf region.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave her on 14th June (UIN 15271).

Women and Equalities

Period Poverty Task Force

Derek Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce will resume.

Kemi Badenoch: Period poverty is an issue the Government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021.Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished - with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic. Further announcements on the plans and the work of the Taskforce will be made in due course.

Vacancies: Advertising

Imran Hussain: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 3616 on Vacancies: advertising, which employers have been approached to participate in the planned pilot schemes to list salary details on job adverts.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 3616 on Vacancies: advertising, for what reason historic pay decisions can be a barrier to employers listing salary information on all job adverts.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 3616 on Vacancies: advertising, for what reason a lack of clarity in pay processes can be a barrier to employers listing salary information on all job adverts.

Kemi Badenoch: In March the Equality Hub called on employers to include salary information in all job adverts and stop asking about previous salary during recruitment as part of a new drive on pay transparency. We additionally announced a pilot study to build the evidence on the impact of taking these steps. In order to ensure the results from the pilot are robust, we will be running it as a controlled trial; with specific employers recruited to take part, once the details of the trial have been decided.The pay setting processes of employers vary widely, and are likely to have changed over the lifetime of the organisations. Many are unlikely to have established a fair and robust pay and reward process from the outset, or performed a job evaluation study. This in turn produces the conditions where unintentional pay disparities may open up. For this reason, for many organisations, moving immediately to a system of full pay transparency is likely to require a period of adjustment. That is why we also announced that we will work with employers to develop a methodology to support them to adopt these measures.

Members: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 22 April 2022 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on conversion therapy.

Mike Freer: I apologise for the delay in responding to hon. Member’s correspondence. We replied to the hon. Member on 15 June.

Department for Transport

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of air quality standards in piloted aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Courts: Maintaining the safety record of UK aviation is something we take very seriously. That is why concerns raised about cabin air have been investigated at length in the UK and internationally over a number of years. These scientific research projects have not been able to confirm a link between perceived cabin air quality and illness, and show that the cabin/cockpit air quality is similar or better than what is observed in normal indoor environments.The Government continues to support steps to further develop understanding of the air quality on board aircraft. The Aviation Health Unit within the Medical Department of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will continue to monitor issues around cabin air as part of their wider role as specialist adviser to the Government on aviation health issues.

Horse Riding: Safety

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety for horse riders.

Trudy Harrison: The Government takes very seriously the safety of horse riders and other vulnerable road users and is committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on England’s roads.Following Parliamentary approval, The Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for all road issues - including horse riders.Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse-riders.

Public Transport: Air Pollution

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the proportion of (a) particulate matter air pollution and (b) nitrogen dioxide air pollution emitted by buses as a proportion of total surface transport in (a) England and (b) the UK is attributed to buses.

Trudy Harrison: The UK’s National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) is compiled annually to report emissions by pollutant and source sector. The latest data available at Devolved Administration level is for 2019 and is publicly available at: https://naei.beis.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=1030.Data from the NAEI for 2019 shows that in the UK 1.1% of total nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were attributable to buses and 2.4% from public transport. In England 1.2% and 2.7% of total NOx emissions were buses and public transport respectively.For particulate matter less than 10 micron (PM10), data from the NAEI for 2019 shows that in the UK 0.3% of total PM10 emissions were attributable to buses and 0.5% to public transport. In England these are 0.3% and 0.5% of total PM10 emissions respectively.For particulate matter less than 2.5 micron (PM2.5), 0.3% of total PM2.5 emissions were from buses and 0.5% from public transport in 2019. In England buses and public transport contributed 0.3% and 0.6% of total PM2.5 emissions respectively.Figures provided above for public transport include buses and rail only. Figures for buses include both buses and coaches. Figures for rail has excluded rail freight.

Driving Tests: High Wycombe

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with (a) Buckinghamshire Council and (b) DVSA on the re-opening of High Wycombe's Driving Test Centre.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) was served notice by its landlords at High Wycombe driving test centre, which meant that testing there had to end on 29 April 2022. This short notice closure was outside of the DVSA’s control.As part of its initial site search for an alternative driving test location from which to conduct practical driving tests, the DVSA had discussions with Buckinghamshire Council. The DVSA is now conducting a detailed suitability assessment of alternative locations and will announce further details once that has concluded.

Driving Licences: Spain

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the UK has a reciprocal arrangement with Spain on the mutual recognition of drivers licenses from each country; and if he will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: The Government is working at pace to conclude a driving licence exchange agreement with Spain so that UK licence holders who are resident in Spain for more than six months will be able to obtain a Spanish driving licence without needing to take a test. Until an agreement is reached, UK licence holders who have been resident in Spain for longer than six months, cannot use their UK issued licence to drive in Spain.This does not affect visiting motorists. UK driving licences are recognised by Spain without the need for a separate International Driving permit. The UK recognises Spanish licences of both those who are resident in the UK and visitors, and will exchange the licences of residents on expiry or request.

Shipping: Minimum Wage

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2022 to Question 13761 on Shipping: Pay, which international partners he has had discussions with on the establishment of bilateral minimum wage equivalent corridors.

Robert Courts: We are working with the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain to build further international cooperation and to improve seafarer welfare and protections. Discussions are at an early stage but are being pursued as a matter of priority. We are progressing these on a bilateral basis and some will be developed more quickly than others.

Shipping: Minimum Wage

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2022 to Question 13761 on Shipping: Pay, what progress his Department has made on developing legislative proposals on UK National Minimum Wage for seafarers.

Robert Courts: Legislation to ensure that seafarers working on vessels that regularly use UK ports are paid at least an equivalent rate to the UK National Minimum Wage, irrespective of the seafarer or flag of the vessel, will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The public consultation on the Bill’s proposals closed on 7th June 2022, and we will be publishing a government response to the consultation in due course, following a full analysis of the responses. In parallel we continue to liaise with international partners to set up bilateral minimum wage equivalent corridors, in the territorial waters of each country and are working through international organisations to create a step change in seafarer welfare.

Cycling and Walking: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in the North West to promote (a) cycling, (b) walking and (c) other forms of active travel.

Trudy Harrison: The Department is supporting local authorities in the North West and elsewhere in many ways, as set out in the Prime Minister’s 2020 Gear Change plan. Among other things, we are establishing a new body, Active Travel England, to upskill local authorities and work with them on the design of their schemes, thus maximising their opportunities of securing funding from the unprecedented £2 billion that the Government is investing over this Parliament.We have already made large amounts of both capital and revenue funding available to individual local authorities across the whole of England to enable more walking and cycling in their areas. As well as funding individual schemes this also helps build local authorities’ capability and capacity on active travel matters, as well as allowing them to develop network and scheme plans and supporting behaviour change programmes to boost active travel.

Cycling and Walking: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his Department's £200 million funding for new walking and cycling schemes announced on 14 May 2022 will be allocated to projects located in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Liverpool City Region and (c) the North West.

Trudy Harrison: On 14th May 2022 the Government announced £161 million of capital funding for active travel schemes across England as part of £200 million of support for active travel.Local authorities across the North West region received just under £31 million of this, which equates to around 19%. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority was awarded a little under £12 million, or around 7% of the total, to support schemes across the region including St Helens.In addition Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Cheshire East Council each received £78,947 of revenue funding to carry out Mini-Holland feasibility funding.

Railways: Tickets

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister’s comments in his speech of June 2022 on the benefits of closing ticket offices that are not well used, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of such ticket office closures on (a) jobs and (b) the accessibility of the rail network in south east London.

Wendy Morton: No final decision has been taken on ticket offices. In considering any proposed changes and making any decisions, the Department will consider the appropriate equalities analysis and the potential impacts of any decisions on passengers with protected characteristics.

Railways: Tickets

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the comments by the Prime Minister in his speech of 9 July 2022 on the benefits of closing ticket offices that are not well used, whether he has had discussions with representatives of (a) Southeastern and (b) Govia Thameslink regarding potential ticket office closures in south east London.

Wendy Morton: No final decision has been taken on ticket offices. Any potential changes to the opening hours of ticket offices, or proposals for closing ticket offices would be led by the Train Operating Companies directly and follow the regulatory obligations set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. Discussions regarding this issue have not taken place with Southeastern Trains or Govia Thameslink Railway.

Department for Education

Academies: Curriculum

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the current flexibility of academy schools in setting the criteria for the curriculum they teach.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to improve the ability of academy schools to (a) set the curriculum they teach and (b) amend the current national curriculum within their own institutions.

Mr Robin Walker: Academies have the autonomy to set their own school curriculum. However, they are required to teach a broad and balanced school curriculum, including maths, English and science, that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance.For academies, the national curriculum acts as a benchmark for a high-quality, knowledge-rich school curriculum. Many academy schools choose to deliver the full national curriculum, but this is not a requirement. With their freedom, multi-academy trusts have been at the forefront of curriculum innovation, and they have led the development of evidence-based, subject-level teacher development programmes, resources, and research.Ministers have no intention of using regulatory reforms to interfere in the day-to-day management of academies, other than in cases of failure. Ministers have no intention to restrict the freedoms that enable academies to collaborate, innovate, and organise themselves to deliver the best outcomes for pupils.All schools are held accountable for delivering a broad and balanced curriculum through their performance in tests and exams and Ofsted inspections. Ofsted aims to reduce curriculum narrowing through the implementation of the 2019 education inspection framework, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework. This framework evaluates the intent, implementation, and impact of each school's curriculum.Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers and colleagues from leading education organisations came together to support schools’ efforts to keep children learning. This included several multi-academy trusts who contributed to the development of lessons and online resources and continue to work with Oak as curriculum partners.Building on the success of Oak National Academy’s work in the pandemic, the department announced in the Schools White Paper that we will establish a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. These optional resources will be available across the UK, helping teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence and educational publishers.The resources are to be optional, non-Ofsted endorsed and intended to exemplify high-quality curriculum design to improve system curriculum thinking and support teachers across the country with their lesson planning and teaching.

Pupils: Broadband and Computers

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency, (b) Hounslow, (c) London and (d) England without access (i) to broadband at home and (ii) to a computer at home to support their learning.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to help schools give pupils from families with low incomes access to (a) broadband and (b) computers at home to support their learning.

Mr Robin Walker: A survey by Ofcom showed that during 2021, 94% of children (aged 0 to 17) in England had internet access and used it in the home, and figures for the UK show that almost half (47%) of children aged 3 to 17 used a laptop or netbook to go online, and 17% used a desktop. Use of more personal and portable devices was more common, with more than four in ten children (43%) saying they only used any device other than a laptop, netbook, or desktop to go online. The survey is available here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf.The department has data on the number of devices distributed to local authorities. However, we only know where devices were shipped. The devices distributed through the department are owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or further education (FE) providers who can lend these devices to children and young people who need them the most. The department does not have visibility of how devices move or how ownership was transferred after receipt.10,272 devices were distributed to Hounslow local authority as part of the get help with technology scheme, including 9,685 laptops or tablets and 587 4G routers.For all London constituencies, the total number of devices distributed was 354,493, including 334,075 laptops or tablets and 20,418 4G routers.The department does not have data for the number of devices distributed to Feltham and Heston constituency.The department has delivered over 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £520 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.The department also provided support for over 130,000 families to get online through uplifts in mobile data and 4G wireless routers. This included partnering with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help over 33,000 disadvantaged children get online and delivering over 100,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The government also provided funding to support schools and FE providers in providing internet access for disadvantaged pupils whose face-to-face education is disrupted due to COVID-19.The get help with technology service is transitioning to provide further support to schools and colleges on meeting technology standards, including in relation to connectivity and devices. This is focused now on levelling up technology in schools and other education providers rather than in homes, but the support and funding already provided should give schools the flexibility to provide remote education support and can continue to be used in the longer term.

Science: BTEC Qualifications and T-levels

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make a comparative assessment of the (a) physics, (b) biology and (c) chemistry subject content which is taught as part of the (i) science T-Level and (ii) equivalent science BTEC qualification.

Alex Burghart: The department has already completed a mapping exercise of the science concepts in the Science T Level Technical Qualification to the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Applied Science, and this information is publicly available. The mapping also extends to AS and A levels in biology, chemistry, and physics. This activity was undertaken to support higher education providers in setting entry requirements for T Levels for relevant degree courses, and we will continue to complete similar exercises for relevant T Levels in future waves. These publications should be reviewed alongside the relevant T Level Technical Qualification specification.It is important to note that the primary purpose of a T Level is to support entry to employment, although we recognise that some T Level students will want to continue to study their chosen subject at a higher level.Full publications of the mapping for the Health and Science and Science T Levels are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1057645/Science_content_common_to_all_T_Levels_within_the_Health_and_Science_route.pdf and here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1057651/Science_content_in_the_T_Level_Technical_Qualification_in_Science_.pdf.

Schools: Stockton on Tees

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to fund a new (a) primary and (b) secondary school to serve Wynyard within Stockton on Tees Borough.

Mr Robin Walker: The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department allocates capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities provide school places, based on their own forecast data.Local authorities can use Basic Need funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools. Where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish an academy. This is known as the free school presumption process.Stockton-on-Tees was allocated just under £61.6 million of basic need grant funding between 2011 and 2021. It has not been allocated funding in subsequent allocations because its data indicates need for mainstream places up to September 2025 had already been funded in previous years.The department also funds new schools through the central free schools route. Under this process the department has recently approved a new primary school in Hartlepool that will also serve the Wynyard area of Stockton-on-Tees.

Private Education: Refugees

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on how they can partly or wholly fund independent school places for student refugees who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme using the same per capita funding that would be spent if they were to be educated in the state sector.

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on placements at independent schools for refugees who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Mr Robin Walker: The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of funding for the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. This education funding for children and young people will be distributed to local authorities. If the funding is used for a school place, it will be for state-funded schools only.In general, there’s nothing that would stop a local authority from providing funding to an independent school, but this would be a decision for the individual local authority to make.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued guidance in March this year advising families how to apply for a school place in England. The Department for Education shared this via The Education Hub blog in April.The Boarding Schools Association and the Independent Schools Council speak regularly to the Department for Education and the Home Office on matters relating to Ukraine and Russia.We are grateful to those independent schools that have come forward to offer places and encourage independent schools to contact local authorities that are seeking to place children.As school places are co-ordinated locally, schools should inform their local authorities that they are willing to offer places to Ukrainian students. It is for independent schools to determine their own criteria for creating scholarship schemes and putting local arrangements for administration in place.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure the safe export of e-waste.

Jo Churchill: There are a number of legal mechanisms in place to control the export of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and to ensure that when WEEE is exported it is managed safely. These include: A ban on exporting WEEE from the UK for disposal;A ban on exporting hazardous WEEE from the UK to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development;A requirement for those involved in the export of waste, including WEEE, to take all necessary steps to ensure the waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling or recovery;A requirement for businesses to obtain approval from the Environment Agency (EA) to export whole items of WEEE or WEEE derived materials. The Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, to which the UK is a Party, agreed changes on 15th June which will further tighten international controls on the export of WEEE. The UK Government supports these changes which, from 2025, will require exporters to obtain prior consent from the Competent Authority in both the country of dispatch and destination to export all types of WEEE for recycling. The EA regulates the export of waste in England, including WEEE. EA officers carry out pro-active and intelligence led inspections to stop waste shipments that breach regulations before they leave ports. In 2020-21, 869 containers were stopped, of which 176 were returned to a waste site as they were unsuitable for export; 27 of those containers were found to contain WEEE. Any UK operator found to be illegally exporting waste can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.

Air Pollution: Pregnancy

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's proposals for air quality targets published on 16 March 2022, what assessment his Department made of the health impacts of air pollution during pregnancy while devising those proposals.

Jo Churchill: Defra has undertaken and published an impact assessment as part of the PM2.5 target development process. This took into account current guidance and evidence as well as specifically commissioned health advice from the Committee of the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) where health experts considered that pregnancy is a vulnerable stage of life with respect to exposure to air pollution. More information can be found at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1060968/COMEAP_Env_Bill_PM2.5_targets_health_evidence_questions_responses.pdf

Deposit Return Schemes

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to introduce a deposit return scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: A second consultation on introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was held last year. The Government is analysing the responses to that consultation, with a view to publishing a Government response in due course.

Slaughterhouses: CCTV

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory CCTV in fish slaughterhouses, in line with Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018, which mandates the use of CCTV in all slaughterhouses for terrestrial farmed animals but excludes fish slaughterhouses.

Jo Churchill: The Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018 requires slaughterhouses to provide official veterinarians with access to CCTV footage. Official veterinarians will view CCTV footage daily. As there are no official veterinarians or routine animal welfare inspection programmes in farmed fish processing premises CCTV footage, were it to be mandated, would not be viewed. Any allegations of welfare or health issues are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Cefas, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. As part of the Action Plan on Animal Welfare we are considering general improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. We have also asked the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and look forward to receiving AWC’s updated advice later this year.

Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill on exports of agricultural products to the EU.

Jo Churchill: All goods placed on the EU Single Market must comply with EU legislation. Precision bred products would therefore be able to enter the EU market if they have received an EU GMO authorisation and are marketed as such. The EU are currently consulting on a new regulatory framework for plants produced by precision breeding technologies and intend to implement this framework by 2023. We will continue to monitor progress of this new framework as this develops.

Peat Bogs: Controlled Burning

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Greenpeace and RSPB analysis, entitled Protecting England's Peatlands; What this year's burning reports tell us, published on 10 June 2022, if he will take steps to investigate breaches of the burning regulations.

Rebecca Pow: We are investigating recent reports in line with the guidance which supports The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021.

Bees: Conservation

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect bee habitats.

Rebecca Pow: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 June 2022 to the hon. Member for Strangford, PQ 13132.

Fly-tipping

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities with combatting fly-tipping.

Jo Churchill: Ending the menace of fly-tipping is a real priority. We have already introduced fixed penalty fines for fly-tipping and are working with councils to develop a fly-tipping toolkit. We have also provided over £450,000 in direct grants to help councils tackle fly-tipping with measures like CCTV – with more to come this year. Additionally, measures such as digital waste tracking and improvements to waste licensing will make it easier than ever to find and punish professional fly-tippers and other waste criminals.

Clean Air Zones: Bradford

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2022 to Question 11614, on Clean Air Zones: Bradford, how many pieces of correspondence there have been between Bradford Council and the Government on the Clean Air Zone in Bradford; what the cost would be of placing details of all correspondence in the Library; and if he will break down that cost.

Jo Churchill: Bradford City Council was first directed to complete a feasibility study in March 2018 to reduce its NO2 levels to within legal limits. Since then, there has been substantial correspondence related to the detail of their proposals which have been thoroughly scrutinised in line with the relevant legislation and Government policy. The relevant ministerial directions have been placed in the Library and the council’s website provides extensive details of the development and planned implementation of the proposals.

Fish: Prices

Ian Levy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the rising cost of fish; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of relaxing the rules on fishing quarters to help increase supply and tackle the rising cost of fish.

Victoria Prentis: Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices. The UK has a highly resilient and diverse food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges – including sourcing a large amount of the fish we consume from countries such as Iceland and Norway. The majority of UK seafood consumption is imported, meaning prices on UK supermarket shelves are largely determined by international supply and demand. It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by the companies. Food prices fluctuate in any given year and are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs. We will continue to speak with industry to understand and support them in coping with any potential pressures. We do not intend to amend fishing quotas because they are an important tool, based on scientific evidence, for managing sustainable fisheries.

CF Industries

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that (a) fertiliser and (b) CO2 products are available to the (i) agriculture and (ii) food industries, in the context of the recently announced closure of the CF Industries plant in Ince.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of CF Industries' Ince plant on supplies of fertiliser and carbon dioxide for the UK.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the announcement of the closure of CF Industries’ carbon dioxide and fertiliser plant in Ince, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure sufficient carbon dioxide and fertiliser supply in the UK.

Victoria Prentis: We understand this will be distressing news for CF Industries' workers and their families. We are in regular contact with the company and stand ready to support those impacted. The proposed closure of their Cheshire plant is a commercial decision for CF Industries, it will not impact supplies of CO2. The Billingham plant remains operational. We source imports of fertiliser and carbon dioxide from a globalised market from a wide range of countries, and continue to produce it domestically at Billingham. The Government continues to analyse the situation to ensure that UK businesses are able to secure fertilisers and carbon dioxide.

Food: Supply Chains

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 May 2022 to Question 5626 on Food: Supply Chains, what support his Department is providing to the Departments referred to in that Answer to ensure that they are aware of issues relating to the food and drink supply chain; and what support the Government is providing to maintain the food supply chain.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 May 2022 to Question 5626 on Food: Supply Chains, what evidence he has received to show that major suppliers can fulfil existent and future public procurement contracts to the public food sectors.

Victoria Prentis: There are a number of challenges that caterers and suppliers are currently encountering in the wider commercial environment including general inflation, energy price increases, material shortages and supply chain disruption.The procurement and fulfilment of food for the public sector is the responsibility of lead departments for that sector. The actual procurement of food is fully devolved to schools and academy trusts and NHS Trusts. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence retain responsibility for procurement to facilities management providers.We will continue to work with these departments regarding any ongoing supply chain issues to gain assurance that any disruption can be accommodated through routine mitigations and further contingency plans.The Government Commercial Function has provided general guidance on handling inflationary pressures to Contracting Authorities.Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to gather evidence and monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Lead Government departments will be responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient evidence to show that major suppliers can fulfil their public sector food contracts.The Government published its Food Strategy last week and this sets out a plan to transform our food system to ensure it is fit for the future. To underpin this approach we are launching a consultation on public sector food and catering policy, including updating the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. Within the consultation, we are proposing that the public sector reports on progress towards meeting an aspiration that 50% of its food expenditure is on food produced locally or to higher environmental production standards.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase the level of support to British farmers to grow food crops in the context of the global food security situation.

Victoria Prentis: This Government will maintain the total investment in the farming sector throughout this parliament. In England, the budget of £2.4 billion per year is being re-purposed in a way that will support farmer’s resilience and food security for years to come. By gradually phasing out the untargeted Basic Payments of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, and replacing them with a flexible range of targeted grants and ongoing payments for farmers, we are increasing the level of support available for delivering on the priorities of farm productivity, environment, climate and animal health and welfare. All the money coming out of Basic Payment Scheme will go back into the sector each year, there will be no gap in investment. We are not fixing allocations of ring-fenced money for schemes, as happened under the EU, but will learn and respond to demand and developments from the sector – keeping the spread of investment under review over time. We have already seen uptake and enthusiasm from farmers in certain areas and have been able to adapt flexibly to this demand. For example, the budget for the new Farming Equipment and Technology fund was increased to account for high demand. As a result, more than 4,000 farmers can invest in new equipment and technology, supporting and improving domestic food production. Defra has recently released further information on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) - designed to help farmers move to new alternative sustainable farming methods gradually, improving environmental conditions of the land, whilst building the long-term resilience of our food security and production. The SFI is one of three new schemes under Environmental Land Management which will maintain productive land, delivering for both farmers and the environment. Our schemes will ensure our long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil; water; and biodiverse ecosystems. The Government continues to monitor the wider context of global supplies that we know can impact farm income and productivity, as well as food security. The Secretary of State recently announced several other measures to support our farmers in the current uncertainty, notably regarding the use of urea fertiliser - helping farmers manage their costs better, as well as improving the statutory guidance for the use of slurry. I recently launched and chaired the first session of a new industry fertiliser roundtable, aiming to work through issues regarding slurry to develop our understanding of current pressures on farmers and identify solutions. The Fertiliser Taskforce is just one example of where the Government is working with closely with industry to improve market confidence - providing farmers with the information needed to make business decisions, in these challenging times.

Attorney General

Hate Crime: Prosecutions

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service is adequately resourced to prosecute hate crime against members of religious minority communities.

Alex Chalk: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recognises the serious impact hate crimes have on peoples’ lives and will always seek to prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so, regardless of the offence, or how it is committed. In 2021/22, the proportion of successful outcomes in religiously aggravated hate crime with an announced and recorded sentence uplift was 79.8%. Each CPS Area has a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor as a strategic hate crime lead and a network of dedicated Hate Crime Coordinators operates across all 14 CPS Areas, providing their expertise on matters relating to hate crime and acting as a local point of contact for all external partner agencies. In addition, the CPS has created a hate crime External Consultation Group, which is responsible for providing a community perspective on CPS activity, providing an important check and balance in respect of CPS casework quality, and includes representatives from Tell MAMA and the Community Security Trust (CST). The CPS also sits on the cross-government working groups on anti-Muslim Hatred and on Antisemitism.

Wales Office

Northern Ireland Protocol: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the Government's proposals for the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Simon Hart: The Foreign Secretary wrote to the Minister for Economy in the Welsh Government ahead of introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to inform the Minister of the forthcoming legislation and seek the consent of the Senedd for provisions in the Bill that are within devolved competence. FCDO officials have also met with officials in the Welsh Government to discuss the content of the Bill. FCDO ministers and officials will continue to engage with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations on the Northern Ireland Protocol during the Bill's passage through Parliament.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Standards

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 June 2022, HCWS99, on Prisons Strategy White Paper: Publication of response to consultation questions, what are the key performance indicators which were introduced in April 2022.

Victoria Atkins: In April 2022 we introduced Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to drive improvements in outcomes by measuring progress with annually published performance ratings for each prison, as set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper. This is a strategy to cut crime and protect the public with a modern, secure prison estate designed to rehabilitate prisoners. The KPIs will be published in due course.

Prison Officers: Uniforms

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department classifies boots for prison officers as personal protective equipment.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) total and (b) individual cost is of (i) boots and (ii) other items of uniform for prison officers.

Victoria Atkins: I can confirm that the Department does classify slip resistant footwear for prison officers as personal protective equipment (PPE). Slip resistant footwear was among a number of measures recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help reduce the number of slip accidents involving prison officers.The Uniform contract, which commenced in July 2020 and ends July 2024, has a contract value (excluding VAT) of £37,268,551. The procurement process introduced service improvements and firmly puts uniformed staff at its core by ensuring that uniform items provided are fit for purpose, meet operational demands and deliver Value for Money to the MoJ.We are not able to provide the information on the individual costs of boots and other items of uniform as discloser of this information would prejudice the interests of the current supplier and any future tender activity.

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the proportion of new prison officers who leave service after less than (a) one, (b) six, (c) 12, (d) 24 and (e) 36 months.

Victoria Atkins: There is a national focus on improving staff retention rates across HMPPS.This includes, but is not restricted to:Implementation of a retention strategy and toolkit within HMPPS to bring organisational consistency to how we tackle attritionA focus on prisons with the highest attrition rates, and the main causesNational interventions to help address national themesTracking of local interventions to manage the micro issues within individual sitesThe number of prison officers who have left after less than (a) one, (b) six, (c) 12, (d) 24 and (e) 36 months' service is shown in table 1 below.The latest set of published HMPPS workforce statistics covering the period to 31 March 2022 is available in the public domain at : Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Table 1: Proportion of band 3-5 officers1 who left HMPPS by length of service2, in the 12 months to 31 March 2022. Length of service2,3HeadcountPercentage of all leavers in periodLess than 1 month1193.5%Less than 6 months57316.9%Less than 12 months87325.8%Less than 24 months1,30338.5%Less than 36 months1,69149.9%   Total band 3-5 officer leavers3,387 NotesIncludes Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.Figures are given on a cumulative basis i.e., staff who fall within the shorter service groups are also included in the longer service groups.

Community Orders: Unpaid Work

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 13 June to Question 13736, how many offenders with community sentences were given an independent working project as part of their sentence in each (a) region, (b) probation service area and (c) probation delivery unit.

Kit Malthouse: Independent working projects (formerly known as Project in a Box) were introduced as a temporary delivery method in response to COVID-19 restrictions, enabling some eligible offenders to complete some of their Unpaid Work hours from home and facilitating the Probation Service’s recovery from the impact of the pandemic. Independent working projects were not in use prior to April 2020.Independent working projects are currently only being deployed in a limited and targeted way to support our recovery from COVID-19. We will be conducting a review of independent working projects in the summer with a view to phase out their use completely by September.Regarding community sentences more broadly, we are making community sentences a more robust and demanding disposal through investment and reform. Our newly relaunched Integrated Offender Management Strategy means probation are working with the police to increase supervision and oversight of the most persistent and problematic neighbourhood crime offenders. Alongside an additional £93m in unpaid work, we are investing £183m to nearly double the number of people on electronic monitoring to 25,000 by 2025.The data for how many offenders with community sentences that were given an independent working project as part of their sentence in each (a) region, (b) probation service area and (c) probation delivery unit in 2020-21 and 2021-22 is as follows:2020-2021Row LabelsDistinct Count of Case Reference Number (CRN)East Midlands Region CPA Derby Leics Notts Rutland Leicestershire Cluster10Nottinghamshire Cluster#Unallocated Level 2(C08)#CPA Derby Leics Notts Rutland Total12CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks All H, L & NY23CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks Total23East Midlands Region Total35  East of England CPA BeNCH All BeNCH#Bedfordshire260Cambridgeshire6Hertfordshire8Northamptonshire104Unallocated Level 2(C13)492CPA BeNCH Total743CPA Essex Essex26Unallocated Level 2(C18)451CPA Essex Total459CPA Norfolk and Suffolk All Norfolk and Suffolk#Norfolk & Suffolk Cluster73Unallocated Level 2(C14)489CPA Norfolk and Suffolk Total500East of England Unallocated Level2(N56)#East of England Total#East of England Total1702  Greater Manchester CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester MST#ST3WBB#CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester Total5Greater Manchester Total5  Kent Surrey Sussex Region CPA Kent, Surrey & Sussex All Kent, Surrey and Sussex10CPA Kent, Surrey & Sussex Total10Kent Surrey Sussex Region Total10  London CPA London London CP1515CPA London Total1515London Total1515  North East Region CPA Durham Tees Valley DTV CRC38Unallocated Level 2(C03)184CPA Durham Tees Valley Total200CPA Northumbria All Northumbria#Northumbria57CPA Northumbria Total58North East Region Total258  North West Region CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester CHESHIRE3CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester Total3CPA Cumbria and Lancashire CRC Cumbria & Lancashire22Unallocated Level 2(C02)8CPA Cumbria and Lancashire Total23CPA Merseyside Community Payback27PSC#Unallocated Level 2(C06)3CPA Merseyside Total31North West Region All North West#North West Region Total#North West Region Total58  South Central CPA Hampshire and Isle of Wight CRC SW and SC Cluster22Unallocated Level 2(C20)4CPA Hampshire and Isle of Wight Total26South Central Total26  South West CPA Brist Gloucs Somerset Wilts CRC Wiltshire Cluster#CPA Brist Gloucs Somerset Wilts Total#South West Total#  Wales CPA Wales Dyfed Powys#North Wales#CPA Wales Total3Wales Total3  Yorkshire and The Humber CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks All H, L & NY17CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks Total17CPA South Yorkshire South Yorkshire CRC23CPA South Yorkshire Total23CPA West Yorkshire Unallocated Level 2(C05)3West Yorkshire CRC Cluster16CPA West Yorkshire Total19Yorkshire and The Humber Total59  Unknown Region CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester All Cheshire & Gtr Manchester12PSC#CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester Total14CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks Unallocated Level 2(C04)8CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks Total8Unknown Provider Unknown Provider PDU7Unknown Provider Total7Unknown Region Total29  Grand Total36802021-2022Row LabelsDistinct Count of Case Reference Number (CRN)East Midlands Region CPA Derby Leics Notts Rutland Leicestershire Cluster121Nottinghamshire Cluster33Unallocated Level 2(C08)16CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks All H, L & NY75East Midlands Region All East Midlands Region10Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres301East Midlands Region Total430  East of England CPA BeNCH All BeNCH111Northamptonshire#Unallocated Level 2(C13)75CPA Essex Essex81Unallocated Level 2(C18)65CPA Norfolk and Suffolk All Norfolk and Suffolk150Unallocated Level 2(C14)112East of England Corporate Services75Norfolk#Suffolk#Unallocated Level2(N56)642Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres433East of England Total1161  Greater Manchester CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester MST4ST17WBB9Greater Manchester All Greater Manchester27Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres26Greater Manchester Total60  Kent Surrey Sussex Region CPA Kent, Surrey & Sussex All Kent, Surrey and Sussex#Unallocated Level 2(C21)#Kent Surrey Sussex Region Brighton and East Sussex28East Kent34Surrey15Unallocated Level2(N57)87West Kent61West Sussex14Kent Surrey Sussex Region Total174  London CPA London All London CRC21CRC6London CP2647London Unallocated Level 2(N07)172Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres2580London Total4373  North East Region CPA Durham Tees Valley DTV CRC3Unallocated Level 2(C03)197CPA Northumbria Northumbria49North East Region Gateshead and South Tyneside#Sunderland#Unallocated Level(N54)175Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres39North East Region Total396  North West Region CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester CHESHIRE22CPA Cumbria and Lancashire CRC Cumbria & Lancashire37Unallocated Level 2(C02)#CPA Merseyside All Merseyside#Community Payback362Unallocated Level 2(C06)4North West Region All North West73Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres215North West Region Total644  South Central CPA Hampshire and Isle of Wight CRC SW and SC Cluster119Unallocated Level 2(C20)#CPA Thames Valley Thames Valley CRC17South Central All South Central40Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres177South Central Total321  South West CPA Dorset Devon and Cornwall CRC Dorset Cluster#South West All South West#Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres#South West Total9  Wales CPA Wales North Wales4Wales Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres886Wales Total890  West Midlands Region CPA Staffs and West Mids Unpaid Work26West Midlands Region All West Midlands12Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres276West Midlands Region Total293  Yorkshire and The Humber CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks All H, L & NY37CPA South Yorkshire South Yorkshire CRC64CPA West Yorkshire Unallocated Level 2(C05)71West Yorkshire CRC Cluster107Yorkshire and The Humber Unallocated Level 2(N55)126Unpaid Work and Attendance Centres164Yorkshire and The Humber Total465  Unknown Region CPA Cheshire and Gtr Manchester All Cheshire & Gtr Manchester154PSC6CPA Humber Lincs & N Yorks Unallocated Level 2(C04)11Unknown Provider Unknown Provider PDU345Unknown Region Total516  Grand Total9385This data was sourced from the Probation Case Management System, nDelius. While reasonable efforts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of this data, the inaccuracy inherent in any large-scale administrative data source means data should not be assumed to be accurate to the last unit presented. Where an individual was instructed to work a session at home by more than one Probation Provider, or in more than one Probation Delivery Unit, they will have been counted once in each such Probation Delivery Unit and once in each relevant total. This includes cases where substantially the same delivery structure operated under a different name, or a different overarching hierarchy. 2020 to 2022 was a period of significant realignment of probation structures, which will have exacerbated the number of cases in which an individual is counted in multiple areas. Individual values do not therefore sum to totals.As some probation delivery structures do not align with regions, a number of cases cannot be assigned to a region. These cases are marked as 'unknown region' but show the relevant Probation Provider and Probation Delivery Unit. While the CRCs ceased delivery of Unpaid Work in June 2021, appointments continued to be attributed to them until December 2021 while ICT migrations took place.

Legal Aid Scheme

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the income threshold for eligibility for legal aid, in the context of increases in the cost of living.

James Cartlidge: In February 2019, the Government announced a comprehensive review of the legal aid means test, which resulted in a consultation that ran from 15 March to 7 June 2022. We are in the process of considering stakeholder responses to the proposals within the consultation, which include raising certain income thresholds, uprating the Cost of Living Allowance for legal aid at the Crown Court and magistrates’ court, and introducing a Cost of Living Allowance for the civil legal aid means test. The Government aims to publish its final response in the Autumn.

Ministry of Justice: Consultants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2022 to Question 11689 on Ministry of Justice: Consultants, how much his Department spent in total on external management consultants in (a) 2018, (b) 2017, (c) 2016, (d) 2015 and (e) 2014; and what ten projects or work areas in each of those financial years required the greatest expenditure on support from those consultants.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Justice makes use of management consultants to advise on resolutions to some of its complex and challenging problems. To ensure value for money is secured from the engagement of management consultants, the Ministry’s commercial policy is to put new requirements out to competition.The Ministry of Justice total spend on external management consultants in the periods 2017/18 and 2018/19 is set out in Table 1 below.The most significant area of spend outlined below is the HMCTS Reform Programme. This programme is investing £1.3bn to carry out much needed digital reforms of court services to address previously antiquated paper processes and IT systems, and ensure that our world-renowned legal system remains viable. The reforms are designing new digital services around users and allowing people to access them online, improving access to justice, and making the system more efficient.The information requested for 2014, 2015 and 2016 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Table 1Consultancy Spend by Financial Year & Business Area, £000s 2017/182018/19MoJ HQ10,4513342Her Majesty's Prison & Probation Service45382671Her Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service10,73022,182Total MoJ25,71928,195The 10 work areas with the greatest expenditure on external management consultancy for each of those financial years are as set out in Table 2 below:Table 2Consultancy Spend by Financial Year & Projects/Work Areas, £000s  2017/181HMCTS - Reform Programme10,3142HMPPS - Electronic Monitoring2,4093MoJ - Finance Group2,1024HMPPS - Prison Reform1,6325HMPPS - Community Rehabilitation1,5796MoJ Property1,4127MoJ Facilities Management9758MoJ Digitech8909MoJ People Group79410MoJ Transformation Programme381  2018/191HMCTS - Reform Programme21,8702HMPPS - Probation Programme1,3603HMPPS - Prison Estates Programme8224MoJ Property5925MoJ Procurement5146MoJ Facilities Management4587MoJ Digitech4178HMPPS - Community Rehabilitation4159MoJ People Group35510HMCTS - Common Platform237

Criminal Liability

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to reconsider the recommendations in the Law Commission's report, Criminal Liability: Insanity and Automatism, published in 2013.

James Cartlidge: The Government has considered the proposals in the Law Commission’s 2013 discussion paper.Whilst we note the Law Commission’s proposals on the potential to update the law in this area, we have no immediate plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to this rarely-used defence. However, we continue to keep this, and the wider and related law on unfitness to plead, under review.

Cabinet Office

Smoking

Ben Bradley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics' bulletin entitled Adult Smoking Habits in the UK will be published this July.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 14 June is attached. Letter from UKSA on PQ18030 (pdf, 112.5KB)

Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the compliance rates of trade union facility time data reporting in terms of the (a) projected and (b) actual number of returns in 2020-21.

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of (a) the cost of facility time and (b) the number of trade union officials who used facility time at Network Rail in 2020-21.

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the compliance rates of trade union facility time data reporting in terms of the (a) projected and (b) actual number of returns in 2019-20.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is committed to ensuring that facility time usage within the public sector remains accountable and represents value for money to the taxpayer. With the exception of the education sector, compliance rates for all other sectors, using the Government’s reporting portal, for the 2020/21 reporting year exceeded 60% of expected returns. This was an overall improvement compared to the 2019/20 reporting year where both education and the NHS sectors were below a 60% compliance rate. The Government is taking action this year to ensure that overall compliance rates continue to rise. Greater transparency will enhance accountability over the spending of taxpayers’ money and practices within the public sector. The full sector breakdown for the compliance rates over the last two years is below: SectorCompliance 2019/202020/21Civil Service100%100%Education18%18%Local Authority69%64%NHS46%66%Police69%77% Network Rail is not currently in scope for the relevant facility time reporting regulations; we are open to representations on this matter.

Government Digital Service

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 8010 on Government Digital Service, what the purpose of the data and user insights work referenced in that Answer was.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The data and insights work referenced in the previous answer included data science, user research, performance analysis and data engineering. The purpose is to guide the development of our products, to ensure that they meet the needs of the user, whether that user be a civil servant or a citizen. This includes: GOV.UK, the One Login for Government programme, GOV.UK Pay, GOV.UK Notify, and the GOV.UK Design System.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the Infected Blood Inquiry to publish its final findings and recommendations; and what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of awarding interim payments as soon as possible to those previously accepted as eligible for support.

Michael Ellis: The timing of the independent Inquiry is a matter for Sir Brian Langstaff, the Chair of the Inquiry. Sir Brian has made clear his intention to complete his work as quickly as reasonable thoroughness allows.As the responsible Minister for the Infected Blood Inquiry, I announced on 7 June the publication of the study by Sir Robert Francis QC into a framework of compensation for people directly affected by infected blood (HCWS79). Sir Robert will give evidence about his work to the Infected Blood Inquiry on 11 and 12 July.The government is considering Sir Robert’s recommendations and it is most important that the government is able to reflect upon Sir Robert’s evidence and the evidence of others to the Inquiry as part of that consideration.

Anti-corruption Champion

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Minister of the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister intends to appoint a new anti-corruption champion.

Michael Ellis: The Government is committed to driving progress on our anti-corruption strategy, as well as stepping up efforts to tackle corruption both domestically and overseas. My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for East Hampshire is the lead Minister on tackling fraud, corruption and illicit finance.Details of any future appointments will be set out in the usual way.

Mortality Rates: Males

Esther McVey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Excess deaths in England and Wales: March 2020 to December 2021 published by the Office for National Statistics on 22 March 2022, what the cause of death was for excess deaths in males ages 15 to 19 years old.

Esther McVey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Excess deaths in England and Wales: March 2020 to December 2021 published by the Office for National Statistics on 22 March 2022, if the Government will publish data on death by data occurrence of those mentioned in those statistics.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Rt hon. Member'sParliamentary Questions of 10 June is attached. UKSA Letter (pdf, 136.9KB)

House of Commons Commission

Members and Members' Staff: Railways

Navendu Mishra: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission has made a comparative assessment of the cost of booking rail tickets for MPs and their staff from (a) rail operators and (b) booking agents.

Sir Charles Walker: The Parliamentary Travel Office (PTO) books train tickets through Evolvi. Rail tickets sold in the UK are regulated and the cost of booking tickets is the same irrespective of where the ticket is purchased. Parliament, however, receives commission from individual rail operators, where partnership agreements are in place – which effectively makes the overall cost to Parliament of booking rail tickets cheaper than purchasing elsewhere.